Every year, most of us get hit with the latest cold, flu or odd infectious disease.
Although Summerland is tucked away in our own little part of the Okanagan, we can’t avoid these ‘travelling’ germs.
It’s the end of the winter however, that brings on the worst ailment of all: Spring Fever.
Last month, we noticed that the fever had hit — somewhat early this year. If you’re not familiar with Spring Fever, the common signs and symptoms are as follows:
Babies: disgruntled whining, irrational screaming for no apparent reason and wanting to be cuddled and put down at the same time.
Toddlers: motors rev on ‘high’ from dawn to dusk, high-speed motion is the only desired activity despite needing very little sleep and refusing to eat anything resembling a vegetable at dinner.
Children: Loss of volume control, disappearing at bath time and unexplained shortening of clothing, particularly in the shirt sleeves and pant legs.
Teens: Uncontrollable urge to do weird things such as attempting strange and dangerous stunts (Le Parcour is popular), bumping into things in plain sight and wearing shorts with flip-flops despite temperatures in the negative double-digits.
Parents: Puffy eyes, weary demeanour, bad haircuts, bouts of extremely loud sighing and frequent stints on travel websites such as Expedia or Travelocity.
Seniors: Amiably wandering through their days, watching Fever victims. (they’ve been through all of this many times before and are confident the symptoms will soon subside)
The good news is these symptoms will disappear. Although there is no known pharmaceutical treatment for Spring Fever, there are some great natural remedies you might want to consider.
• Warm, spring sunshine radiated onto the face. (don’t forget to smile and soak it all in)
• Draw a map of this year’s garden. Watch “Martha’s Spring Gardening” dvd from the library. Don’t forget seeds are available free at the Summerland Seed library. (10 package limit – library card required) If you haven’t donated last year’s seeds yet, come to the library desk for some pre-stamped envelopes to package your seeds.
• Clean out a messy drawer, closet or room. Open the window when done and let some fresh air in. (mmmm, is that violets I smell?) Find some tips in “Spring Cleaning” by Monica Nassif
• Write down 3 things you’d like to do this year and one thing you can do to make each of them happen. For a break, read “Spring is Special” by Cari Meister with a little person.
• Sign the kids up for the “Seuss-Tastic Reading Challenge” at the library over spring break.
• Take a little trip – doesn’t have to be far or long. Roast hotdogs over a fire at the campground (bring cocoa to warm your toes up), visit someone you haven’t seen for a long time (chances are they’re suffering from Spring Fever too) or if you can, visit a place you’ve never been via car, boat, train or plane. (Low-cost alternative - read a travel book and take a virtual vacation)
This year’s strain of Spring Fever has been particularly volatile but the end of winter is near. The cure is coming – it’s almost spring!
Sue Kline is the Community Librarian at the Summerland Branch of the Okanagan Regional Library.