by LISA CAPOBIANCO Restless. That is one word to describe me as an 8-year-old girl with a runny nose, persistent cough, and sore throat. The time is already 8 a.m. on a weekday and my mom has decided that I am too sick to go to school. After calling the principal’s office to report that I will not be coming in today, she orders me to get back to bed…immediately. “Go get some rest—you need all the sleep you can get so you can get back to school tomorrow,” my mom says. Sigh. A sick day in bed is really how I want to spend it, I say to myself, “… not.” Dragging my feet back with my head down, I go back to my room in disappointment, longing to watch Disney movies or to color instead of pretending to fall asleep for the rest of the day. “Here—put this on,” my mom says as she hands me the infamous Vicks VapoRub. Sticky and smelly, Vicks VapoRub is one of the cold remedies I have hated the most since I first encountered it. Although meant to help nasal congestion, the topical ointment nearly ruined my appetite while making my chest […]
by LISA CAPOBIANCO Restless. That is one word to describe me as an 8-year-old girl with a runny nose, persistent cough, and sore throat. The time is already 8 a.m. on a weekday and my mom has decided that I am too sick to go to school. After calling the principal’s office to report that I will not be coming in today, she orders me to get back to bed…immediately. “Go get some rest—you need all the sleep you can get so you can get back to school tomorrow,” my mom says. Sigh. A sick day in bed is really how I want to spend it, I say to myself, “… not.” Dragging my feet back with my head down, I go back to my room in disappointment, longing to watch Disney movies or to color instead of pretending to fall asleep for the rest of the day. “Here—put this on,” my mom says as she hands me the infamous Vicks VapoRub. Sticky and smelly, Vicks VapoRub is one of the cold remedies I have hated the most since I first encountered it. Although meant to help nasal congestion, the topical ointment nearly ruined my appetite while making my chest […]