Cold Season

I feel bad that I've given Sammy my cold. He started off with a scratchy voice on Saturday morning and from that point on, I've been putting the steamer in his room at night. I thought his cold was getting better but he came home from school today pretty stuffed up. 

There's no complaining on his part, as usual, but still I feel bad about it. I filled up the steamer again tonight and we'll see how it goes I don't really know how much good it's doing, but he seems to like it and it makes me feel like I'm doing something.

Years ago, when I was small, if I had a bad cold, Mom and Dad would put a steamer in my room, as well. I don't remember it helping a whole lot, but I don't remember it hurting, either. In any case, it felt like I was getting attention, so that was a pretty good reason to go along with it, regardless. 

If my cold was really bad, they would set up a makeshift steam tent. One time, this consisted of a sheet, one end of which was tacked on to the adjoining wall of my bed. The sheet was pulled across by bed, where the other end of the sheet was draped over the backs of a couple of chairs. On one of the chairs was the steamer. 

The theory was that the steam would be more concentrated, than if the steamer was just filling up my little tiny room . I think it pretty much worked because I remember the wallpaper next to my bed almost peeling off because from all the humidity. 

Another time I remember Mom and Dad setting up a card table that straddled the head of my bed. They draped a sheet over that, too. This held the steam in, but it also produced so much condensation that it was like rain dripping down from the underside of the table. Still, between attention, and having Mom and Dad making me a pretty cool fort, it was more than worth it. It almost made me not want to feel better- which was not something I need a lot of encouragement on, anyway.

I don't do anything as fancy as that for Sam. Its not that I wouldn't bother, but his bed is pretty much a fort already. He sleeps on a lower bunk and every night, he surrounds himself in a nest made out of his stuffed animals. Still, I'm pretty sure he likes the extra attention that comes along with having the steamer in his room. And I think he likes feeling that someone cares and that he is being cared for. Who wouldn't?

I'm hoping he'll feel better in the morning.