How to Help Someone Feel Better When They're Sick

We got home late Friday night after spending a few days in Disneyland, and I brought home with me a nasty cold.

I started feeling pretty crappy on the flight home, with my throat killing me and so much pressure in my nose that my head felt like it would explode. Once we were home, I took medicine and hoped for the best, but woke up the next day feeling even worse. I was texting my mom about the trip and how much fun it was, but saying the only bad part was how I was feeling now.

Within hours there was a knock at the door. It was Sitto!

And she had in one hand a Tupperware full of frozen homemade chicken noodle soup (she makes the best chicken noodle soup ever) and in the other a wrapped gift. The kids saw the gift and immediately assumed it was for them, but when they tried to grab it out of her hand, she moved it swiftly and said it was for daddy. For me? What on earth was it?

As it turned out, it was a bear hug: A little stuffed toy named “Quincy” who says on his tag, “Something I know is true…hugs are contagious, whether big or small. They don’t cost a cent, so you can give them to all.”

We could all use a bear hug every now and then couldn’t we?

And while I still feel pretty crappy today, the warm soup helped my throat feel better and the bear hug reminded me how I am loved, and I don’t think I could ask for more than that.

So there you have it. That’s how to help someone feel better when they’re sick: A cup of warm soup and a good ole’ fashioned hug. Works every time.