There comes a point in the days of being sick where I hit the 5th stage of an imagined grief. I succumb to the acceptance with pity, I will forever exist with a runny nose. One clogged nostril or chronically dry lips. My lungs were made to cough up mucus, breathing is a fallacy.
Day seven of waking myself up to hack, the tissue once crumpled in my hand now lost in the sheets. It is, as of now, just a cold. And with anonymity, I blame my new nanny gig. Ah yes, children, with their big eyes and cute teeth. Their big hearts and stupid lies and true talent for spreading disease. A two year old sneezed in my face and I’ve been less myself ever since.
In an attempt to carve out time for myself and out-think my physical ailments, I back into the wall of frustration. If my sinuses are out of control then I must to find it elsewhere. Be it in my house or the kitchen or the scent in the bubble bath, Im sick and need an even louder voice. Ultimate control of the music, or the stove, or the conversation.
I truly am my father’s daughter.
SO… things within my control are as follows:
A very strong Hot Toddy and a warm ginger cake. Making lady fingers from scratch and bringing my own mug to work. Lentils with smoked paprika and Andouille sausage and watching almost exclusively video podcasts. Talking to almost no one and canceling on my therapist. Making a Valentine’s Day garland and cleaning my sheets. Going to bed at 9 pm.
If I’m going continue in life with a cold then so be it. So be my dependence to cough drops and glassy eyes. So be my fragile state of mind. I will not apologize for crying to the song “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” Or procrastinating on my writing. Letting the self conscious dust pile up and being way to dramatic about my new normal. With a low-grade depression and migraine, I add too much whiskey to my tea.
Hot Toddy
This is medicine to me. There are no star anise or whole cinnamon sticks. Despite its warmth and deliciousness this cocktail is no bullshit. Just the key components to provide temporary relief and a moment of delighted intoxication.
Add a tea bag to this cocktail and preferably one with a cute bear on the packaging. If responsibly (or irresponsibly) day drinking or in need a few more hours of productivity in the day, use Hunny & Lemon Winnie tea which is a green tea herbal blend. For a true nightcap you can’t go wrong with the perfected Sleepytime tea from that one brand that is apparently a front for a cult. Moving on…
Johnnie Walker is our “house” whiskey, a decent scotch that is very agreeable in most whiskey cocktails. I have no other loyalties to the brand besides the convenience of always having it available in my dads liquor cabinet. Use what you have.
Specialty honey makes a wonderful holiday gift and this year brought me this honey from the vegetable.rva. This lavender and black pepper honey makes this a very special cocktail and I always eat a little straight from the jar before melting into the potion. I haven’t been to able to find this honey to purchase outside of occasional inventory at the Birdhouse Farmers Market, but the key is this—use the good honey. The raw, local, uncut medicine.
And sure a lemon peel garnish is nice but I’m healing myself here, I need the vitamin C. Don’t skimp on the lemon juice and find that the tartness will balance out this concoction beautifully.
Recipe
1 Herbal Tea bag
Juice of half of lemon (about 1 1/2-2 Tablespoons)
Lemon twist (for garnish)
1 Tablespoon of Raw Honey
2 oz Scotch whiskey
Bring a kettle to a boil and pick out your favorite mug. For an added touch of self love, heat up your mug by running it under a hot tap or swirling boiling water in the mug to knock the chill out of it. Start with adding your honey, whiskey and lemon to the mug, add about 1/4 of the water and stir to dissolve the honey. Then add the tea bag and top off with hot water and top with a lemon twist. Sit by a fire or enjoy in the comfort of your bed.