I don't think that people who are sick take good care of themselves. At least, I don't. For instance, when I am sick, I always have to write down what time I take doses of medicine because otherwise, hours later, I'm not sure what time I took the last dose, and might take the next dose too soon or hours too late, or miss a dose. I don't always get out the humidifier and set it up for myself when I need it because it is too much work. It's probably not a good idea for me to make very important decisions when I am sick...I just don't think I am in the right frame of mind. Such was the case last Saturday, one week ago. I could tell germs were entering my body. Gayle was recovering from a cold, and I "caught" them. As the day wore on, I was going downhill fast. By afternoon I desperately wanted to crawl into bed, but that driving force inside me kept me going. I thought if I could make some delicious minestone soup for dinner, it would be good for me and then I'd just go to bed early. The house was quiet. Gayle was asleep, having risen very early that morning. Cory was either gone or in his room, not sure. I could have just as easily opted for a nap, but NO! not me...
So I made some delicious muffins first, then started in on the soup. The broth calls for a 15 ounce can of tomato paste. I went down to the storeroom and pulled one off the shelf. Hmmm. Bulging can. Open. Hissss. Smells good. Looks ok. Plop it goes into the broth. Oops. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. Will it be ok? Sure it will. We always bless the food. I keep making the soup, adding the spices, then cans of carrots, green beans, chick peas, kidney beans, and macaroni. I taste it. Delicious. Then in my mind comes a recent true story of a very unfortunate circumstance that resulted in tragedy and a woman in jail charged with first degree murder. I thought of my soup. Was it full of bottulism? Would it make us sick...or worse? I called my family for dinner and Gayle and Cory came to the table unaware.
"I have a confession to make. I used a bulging can of tomatoe paste and I am not sure if we should eat this. It might be contaminated. Before we eat, I want to look it up on the internet." Well Cory beats me to it and reads aloud from his smart phone all about bulging cans of tomato paste, bottulism, the symptoms of, percentages in the USA, paralysis, and then the three of us make a decision: We went out to eat.
I didn't really enjoy myself. I just wanted to lie down. When we got home, I went to bed. Gayle threw the soup away. I slept or rested almost all day on Sunday.
I went to work on Monday, happy that I felt well enough to go. Not 100%, but not sick enough to stay home. It was hard to work all day! I just wanted a nap. And so went the week. Donna, my friend and co-worker, promised that she'd stop me if she observed me doing anything strange. (She LAUGHED her head off when I told her my story) It's now a week later, I didn't get sick with bottulism even though I sampled the soup. But then...I always pray, and believe in miracles.
