Arrrgh!!!

Both Dear Husband and I have been caught by the cold bug. This morning I realized that in the twenty years I have known him, DH has been noticeably ill perhaps five or six times. He's very stoic about illness. He will ignore it and carry on, when I think he should pamper himself.

Part of that has to do with being a guy, and part of it has to do with being an employer, I'm sure. He feels that if he is not there to oversee a job, it will either not be done to his exacting standards, or not done at all. So, even if we can see that he is ill, he goes off to work long before the crack of dawn.

Dear Husband and I have talked about colds . There have been years when I have caught a cold three or four times in the colder half of the year, and other years when I have been cold free. He is of the opinion that I need to get out of the house more. I'm not sure if that is a euphemism for "get more exercise," or if he really means "out of the house."

I noticed yesterday, when I had to chauffeur my mother around, that I felt better when I was out in the cool air. That doesn't make sense to me. What is there about cool, or cold air that would ease a cold? Conversely, what is there about my house that could be making me sick? Pet dander, dust, dust mites, fireplace ashes, colognes, scented cleaning products......the list is long, but could they be the reason my colds last longer?

I've also wondered if the fact that Dear Husband works out of doors plays a role in how quickly he recuperates from colds. Does cold air force a body to raise it's temperatures, making it less hospitable to the virus? Or is it just that he gets so much more exercise than I do?

I know they don't have the cure for the common cold yet. Believe me, when they do, I'll be at the head of the line to receive it! Until then, a brisk walk outside each day, and an apple, may be the best medicine I can find.