Confession: This is not the article I had intended to write.
My article was going to be a straight-forward health and wellness “listicle” of ways to boost your immune system.
For the last few days I’ve been brushing up on my knowledge of the immune system, activities and foods that help boost it and finding science-backed research so when I share the article you’d know I was telling the truth.
But I find myself distracted.
Here I am learning how garlic and honey help the body defend itself against bacteria and viruses – but meanwhile, in the back of my mind, I’m worrying about my firstborn and her boyfriend in New Jersey contending with daily life in one of the hottest COVID-19 spots in the country.
Here I am learning how a healthy diet with fruits and vegetables help our bodies combat sickness because they have natural antiviral and antimicrobial properties. And yet I’m thinking about Washington, DC and how long COVID-19 will take to spread to my daughter and her wife who live in a city not far from there.
And again, I’m learning how getting enough sleep, exercise, and sunshine and reducing stress all contribute to a healthy immune system. But my thoughts are with my son in boot camp due to graduate a Marine at the end of May. And how we may not be able to see him on one of the most important, and proudest, days of his life.
And then comes the confirmation of the last bit of information that made me change direction with this article: green tea. Rich in antioxidants, green tea – just like all the other mentions in this article – help protect the body against sickness, viruses and infections.
And it dawned on me that what I should share with you is what some, maybe all, of us are really thinking about. No, not COVID-19.
LIFE.
How it has changed, how scary it has become, how more socially reliant we are on ‘community’ now even though we are practicing social distancing.
How the most important parts of life remain the same – but more appreciated than ever before.
And how, through all this surreal madness, that life should be like a good cup of coffee.
We should look forward to it everyday.
Even though our day looks different than it did a month ago, even though our day may be harder. Once in a while we get our cuppa from a new place and maybe it’s not as good or it’s a tad bitter. We still power through it – perhaps, even, with a new appreciation of our normal cup of Joe.
Life, like coffee, should propel us to action.
Like caffeine surging through our veins, in life there’s inspiration and motivation. If you can’t find it on the news or social media, be it. Donate, shop for your neighborhood senior, make masks.
And, like coffee, life should promote community.
While we may not be able to hang out in the local cafe with our friends, we can still Facetime, Zoom, text, share fears as well as laughter, making sure to stay socially connected even while social distancing.
The Takeaway
What I hope you takeaway from this read? Boost your immune system with the simple suggestions above but live your life like it’s a good cup of coffee.
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Be safe, be kind, be well.