I thought I knew what I was getting into when I married an Italian. Of course you never know what to expect when you get married, and nothing expected comes from your in-laws. I expected a lot of pasta. Well, my husband doesn’t eat pasta, but he is a huge sauce snob. Pretty much no matter how I make it, the sauce isn’t good enough. Usually he says I need to add sugar, but really it’s because I’m not his mom. Show of hands if you’ve heard that story before.
I wrongfully assumed that I could slave over a pot of red sauce for 30 minutes before he got home from work, while wearing an apron of course, he’d walk in the door and say, “Honey, it smells like home!” before giving me a kiss and plopping on the couch to read the newspaper. We don’t actually subscribe to the newspaper anymore, nor do I own an apron yet (I’ve looked). And he definitely does not tell me my pasta sauce smells like home.
One of the perks of leaving the Italian pub of New York and relocating to Southeast Texas was the addios to winter. With winter comes the common cold, or worse- the flu, and snot rockets and wiping boogers on your sleeve gross me out. As if having a two year old isn’t gross enough, I was not looking forward to the flu season. A warm winter is not only great because I don’t want to hibernate, but also generally reduces the spread of germs. Scratch that, Southeast Texas has the 3rd highest rate of influenza in the state. Either we are never leaving the house, we’re leaving in a bubble, or we needed to explore alternative options.
Full Disclosure: I fully vaccinate my daughter. I understand the risks, I understand a parent’s decision to abstain. This year we chose to have her vaccinated from the flu. This was done with much research (and objections from family). We did not use the influenza vaccination as a replacement for standard precautions or hygiene. We’ve still increased our hand washing, we’ve still stayed home if a friend is stick. But there is not one single approach to a healthy body, these actions must work together.
Oils for Immunity
I’m no stranger to essential oils. Our home uses lavender at bedtime, found cedarwood for a cough. We’ve diffuse eucalyptus in the car and drop lemon in our tea. But frankly, I am oily ignorant. I don’t mix and match or develop recipes. I’m far from an aspiring aromatherapist. If the bottle doesn’t tell me what’s in it and what it does, I generally won’t buy it.
Insert Krista Campbell, Young Living consultant. Krista saw sickness sweeping over the country and mixed a blend of thieves and oregano to build that immunity and fight away sickness before the first sneeze. Thieves Oil is a YL exclusive blend of Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus Radiata, and Rosemary. It’s basically the holy water of the Young Living community. Oregano is an Italian herb.
I received a complimentary roller of Thieves/Oregano for sampling purposes, but all opinions are my own.
Although the instructions said to roll on the bottoms of our feet at the first sign of sickness, I was eager to try it out. Sassy Toddler giggled as I rolled it on. Winter hadn’t quite snuck in on us yet, so I left her socks off. Husband came home and asked, “Are you making sauce?”
I kid you not.
Years of trying to emulate his mother’s red sauce and all I needed was oregano.
500 years worth of flu season later…
I will not say that the flu shot and preventative measures didn’t keep our family from getting the flu. I will however, be the first to say that we did not so much as catch a cold until the last week of January. And mind you, it was a mild cold lasting less than 48 hours. It could have been anything!
Morale of the story, my house will smell like pasta sauce every winter until the end of time.
Another Disclosure: I don’t claim to be a medical expert, or an essential oils expert.
Love your writing style! Great article 🙂