Is it a cold or allergies? This seems to be the question I find myself asking, and I know I’m not the only one who is perplexed about this.

Last week, my daughter Zoe had a cough that seemed to linger. She didn’t have any other symptoms, but the cough was persistent and annoying. We gave her cough drops and didn’t really think much about it. She said she didn’t feel well, but I told her to “suck it up and deal with it.” Those were my exact words.

Guess what? It wasn’t allergies. I know this because now I have her cough. If I had  know she felt this badly, I would have let her miss school. If I didn’t feel so yucky right now, I might feel a little guilty about the way I reacted to her “illness.”

It’s no fun to feel sick. With the recent time change, the sun is out, the weather is beautiful, and I want to go outside and play.

Yesterday, I was in the car with my thirteen-year-old daughter when we drove past a hospital on our way home.

“Mom,” she said, “I know you don’t feel well right now, but think of all the sick people inside of the hospital. They would love to just have a cold.”

I was speechless, which doesn’t happen very often, because she was brilliantly right. Who cares if I have a cold. It will pass. It’s not the end of the world.

There are much worse things I could have.

It’s call perspective, and I appreciated hearing it from my daughter. It’s a good reminder to us all. Whatever you’re dealing with, keep it in perspective. It might be inconvenient, but hopefully whatever you’re dealing with, like my cold, will pass.

Most annoyances in life are short lived. Some take a little longer than others, but most of the time, we get through whatever it is. There are always lessons to be learned. Whatever you’re dealing with right now, keep in mind it could always be worse. Remember, the people who are sick and in the hospital right now would change places with you in a heartbeat. Always count your blessings.

I’m trying to do this as I cough so hard I’m sure I’m going to rupture something. But it will pass, and knowing this makes it a lot less painful.

Find meaning each day,

Dara

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