Cold Season: MY PONDERING MIND

Winter is the season when we are prone to colds. We are forced indoors more with either 3 feet of snow or ice cold temperatures. Germs lurk everywhere! Just turning a door knob can cause little bacteria to attach themselves to your hand and stick around until you choose to shake someone's hand. Then they like to ride with that person and so on. We all know the consequences as soon as we go to rub our eyes or itch our nose. Ah Choo! With that our little bacteria friends spread their wings and go off like the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds to find their next target, and we have inherited the 7-day runny nose, fever, sore throat and total misery of the common cold. There are precautions we can take to hopefully avoid being a bacteria target:

1)  Do not go outside with wet hair. (I've heard this may not be true, but I don't want ice forming on my head and dripping on the floor when it melts.)
2)  Keep your hands clean--especially after handling a doorknob, subway pole, bathroom faucet, etc.
3)  Keep your fingers away from your eyes and nose and mouth until they are clean as in point #2. Otherwise eating would be difficult!
4)  Stay away from as many refined foods as possible. They lower immunity.
5)  Eat more veggies and fruits.
6)  Bundle up when going outside.
7)  Get plenty of rest.
8)  Drink plenty of water.
9)  And ponder this: Do you have more chance of catching a cold if you are chewing gum and blowing bubbles? In other words, can airborne bacteria be caught by the bubble and then ingested after it has deflated and the gum is back in the mouth?

Basically, protect yourself but also do not dwell on it. Enjoy the winter for the beauty it has to bring with soft falling snow, warm fires to enjoy while reading a book, and hopefully finding some quiet time each day for you to slow down and allow your body to rejuvenate as the earth is doing during its frozen sleep.