Brian and Libby's Blog

Sickness and new coffee, part 2

Well, as it turns out, the new coffee isn't as bad as I thought. Remember how I said it tasted exactly as horrible as the old coffee? Well it was. It was actually the old coffee. The pots and all were new but they were still using up the old crap. The new stuff is manageable for my day to day and with my great savings I will treat myself to a Starbucks here and there. Sa-weet.

And the sickness, it turned out to be real. So real in fact that I lived on the couch for two days. I used to love sick days. Well, let me rewind. When I was a kid, I hated them. Sick days meant Abaji (my grandpa on my dad's side) came over to "watch" us. I use that term loosely because Abaji "watching" us when we stayed home sick pretty much consisted of Abaji laying on the couch watching CNN all day, the sick child making Abaji frequent cups of tea and the occasional sandwich, and Abaji lecturing us on what I refer to as his key points. These key points, which, if you have ever spoken to Abaji, you already know, have been the same for the last 30 years (if not longer), and are as follows:

1. Education is the most important thing in the world.
2. The American school system is failing us for only teaching us our times tables up to 12. Abaji insists we learn them up to 16 (which is what you did if you stayed home sick).
3. Every Christian must have a full, working understanding of Islam.
4. Every single one of his offspring must be a Republican, or he will cry.
5. Tattoos are of the devil.

So anyways, unless I wanted to serve tea and learn more about the above, I would go to school. Don't get me wrong, I love Abaji. There is no one like him in the world. But when you're 9 years old and have the flu, making Abaji tea, watching CNN and reciting multiplication tables up to 16 isn't really a relaxing day home from school. Some would argue that it was worse :)

Then when I was older and my mom was home, sick days were like the lap of luxury. Laying on the couch, mom making us food and serving us tea, and of course, the elixir. My mom always made us this special concoction when any of us were sick. I believe it cures everything...part ginger ale, part orange juice. Perfect for a cold, even for those with a sensitive stomach. The elixir has followed me into adulthood and I found myself sipping on OJ mixed with Citrus soda (it was that or Dr. Pepper) through a brightly colored straw last week. Hey, when you're sick, you have to do whatever it takes to make yourself feel better. Thanks for the elixir Mom. I promise it will be passed down through the generations!

posted by Libby @ 8:52 AM