Sherbet and TheraFlu - and "Chicken Soup for the Soul"

Most people have certain comfort foods they crave when they're sick. When Matthew was little I did the same things my Mom did whenever a cold, the flu, or some childhood ailment like measles or chickenpox called for bedroom quarantine. Like her I administered, along with plenty of love and the doctor's prescribed medications, foods that really have been found to contain anti-inflammatory properties but that, for the most part, soothe the patient's soul. I have fond memories of the special things Mom made for me. She would first come in and plump my pillows so I could sit up straight in bed. The meals would be served on a metal folding TV tray - ever present by my bedside from the moment I came under sequestration. The tray always held a thermometer and a cool, damp washcloth in a small basin. It was also the place for resting coloring book and crayons or storybook when fevered eyes and throbbing head made it too difficult to focus. At mealtimes all that was whisked away and replaced with a bowl of soup, and perhaps a grilled cheese sandwich if my stomach wasn't upset. I loved tomato soup (Campbell's of course) made with one part water and one part milk - that was Mom's way. But when I was sick, chicken soup (Campbell's again) was the home remedy of choice. Mom always served it piping hot, with saltines or oyster crackers on the side. The warm, savory broth and squishy noodles smelled and tasted so good! And there were tiny brown bits of meat that made legitimate the name chicken noodle soup. My germ-ridden little body seemed to respond immediately to that magic elixer! In our house we always had dessert, and when I was ill that meant fruit sherbet - orange or lime - though if I was really, really sick Mom would spring for the tri-flavored variety with bands of orange, raspberry, and pineapple. Uummm - there is nothing better than ice cold sherbet to sooth a red, scratchy throat.
Back then our pediatrician was big on prescribing Coricidin for colds, and tiny orange St. Joseph aspirins for fever. Ah - the 50s and 60s were such a simple time... Today I'm once again the patient with this stupid head cold. My sweet son Matthew followed the tried and true example of his Grandma and Mom, making a mercy trip to the grocery store to purchase 3 cans of my beloved Campbell's chicken noodle soup. No sherbet but a softserve ice cream and Dr. Pepper float from Wendy's made a fine substitute. No Coricidin (do they even make that anymore, or in this drug-riddled world is it now considered a controlled substance?!) so today TheraFlu has been the attempted cure-all. Since that's about to kick in now I'm going to grab my new box of Kleenex with Lotion (also on Matt's grocery list) and curl up under the covers to dream of childhood days when a loving Mother's cool hand on a hot forehead, a comforting bowl of chicken noodle soup, and spoons full of syrupy sherbet were just what the doctor ordered!