The Skeptic and the Muffin

This past weekend Linda and I were forced to stay home from our planned ministry travel due to the winter weather. It seemed to me that it was no coincidence then that I also came down with my twice annual (Spring and Fall) sinus cold. I’m talking about the kind that begins with the post-nasal drip, sore throat, upset stomach, low grade fever and total laryngitis. They usually last for at least a week and perhaps as long as two. I went to the pharmacist and told her my tale of woe and told her to give me something over the counter that would stop it dead in its tracks. She suggested some throat lozenges with Zinc in them. She included the caveat that if the symptoms had already progressed that it may not fully arrest them but would, perhaps, lessen them.

For the next two days I was miserable.

Now, you need to know that I’m a proud skeptic when it comes to what I regard as popular fads in the realm of diets, home remedies, get rich schemes, and other such things. So when my darling daughter called me and boldly asserted that I needed to mix up some essential oils and apply the concoction to the bottoms of my toes it was downright hard to refrain from laughing … no … from guffawing!

My daughter, however, is my daughter, my baby, my “Muffin”, and a pretty true reflection of the woman whom I have loved for 46 years, her mother. So, to humor her I skeptically mixed in a spoon some JoJo juice, something called Breathe, Melaluca (sounds like something you take for an unpleasant digestive or bowel disorder) and a few other of her mysterious ingredients.

Laughing at myself, I removed my socks, pulled some toe jam from between my toes and then spread the slippery stuff on the bottom surfaces of my toes between the end of my foot and the tip of the toes. It’s like putting oil dressing on ‘toe salad’, I thought. I began singing, “I called the witchdoctor she told me what to do. She said oooh ee, ohhh ah ah, ting tang wallawalla bingbang.” I quit when I noticed the cat watching me with a quizzical look.

Suddenly I remembered my little girl telling me to put some of the mixture on my neck, my cheekbones, and my nose but to keep it away from my eyes. I thought about where my finger had just been and wondered if I now wanted to put it on my face. I did.

I don’t want to jump to any conclusions and I want to affirm that I am still skeptical but in the interest of full disclosure I must confess that today, only 4 days after the onset of symptoms which usually herald a protracted 10-14 day battle, my symptoms are almost gone and I’m almost feeling normal.

My daughter? She’s elated, I’m sure. This is not a conversion testimony nor an endorsement but maybe, just maybe I’ll try the same thing the next time I get a sinus cold and, we’ll see.