Being sick is never fun. I’ll bet that if you’ve ever been sick away from home, you thought, at least once, and maybe even many times over, “Man, I just want to be home.” You want to be home for all those comforts that you have there. That’s how I tend to feel anyway.
This last week in the Nomad house, we’ve had everyone sick, except me, Mama Nomad (knock on wood). At varying levels of sick, but all 4 of my fellas have been under the weather with major coughing, sore throats, stuffy nose, and extremely tired. Thankfully the weather in Orlando has been perfect for staying in to rest; rain, rain, and more rain.
So what is one to do living a Nomad life, getting sick, and wanting to “be home,” when home is wherever you are at the time. I did plan ahead for this adventure, and in our “tub o’ goodies,” a “tub o’ medicine cabinet” was included. It has everything from neti pots, hydrogen peroxide, bandages, epsom salt, Absorbine Jr., and the list goes on. I’ve included a picture of the tub o’ medicine cabinet. You’ll notice that most things are put in large sealing bags. That is to keep items that are similar together, and also to prevent spillage. It makes it easier for me to find what I need if like items are with other like items. Also, here is a picture of my bathroom counter. It is where the items that have been needed this week for healing and comfort have been “stored” for easy access.
When I was digging out everything that I felt the guys needed to be nursed back to health, it got me thinking, how in the world do people pack and prepare for backpacking adventures? Our adventure is different than our “normal” life, but it still feels pretty comfortable. With 40+ tubs of “stuff” still in our possession, I don’t feel quite so lost. All the boys had comfy clothes for lounging, they all have their soft blankets and pillows for comfort, I had all the pots and pans I needed to make them my homemade chicken noodle soup from scratch, and we had the tub o’ medicine cabinet with us.
I guess, when you’re getting ready for any kind of trip, you kind of roll the dice. You pack what you think you’ll need, what you can fit, and feel safe knowing you can go to a store for anything else. I was able to bring along almost our whole medicine cabinet that we had before we hit the road. As we use items up, most of them I won’t replace until they’re needed. I would like for this tub to eventually be a combined tub with bathroom things, to help cut down on how much we carry with us. There are some things that I feel we can’t be without at anytime; SmartSilver, poison ivy wash and spray, Absorbine Jr., bandages, Advil, and the neti pots.
I am happy to report, as this week wraps up, that all the boys seem to be getting back to their old selves. We laid by the pool today for some vitamin d and fresh air, before the clouds full of rain rolled in. All the coughing seems to be lessening, and they seem to be getting their energy back. Hopefully, next week we will be out and about with more exploration and adventure. We’ve got less than 60 days left in Florida, and there’s still much to do.
