Students need their mothers’ love, care

by Kadie Sharp SHA04007@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

College is a home away from home. At home, life was pretty nice because Mom was always there to take care of things. She would wash the dishes, clean the house and do the laundry.

Yet, the best part of living at home is that mom takes care of you when you become sick.

“When I got sick my mom would make me tomato soup with soda crackers,” Anali Rappleye, a freshman from Layton, Utah, said. “She watched movies with me and always got blankets to tuck me in. She would sit and talk with me. She would have mother/daughter time with me.”

“[My mom] usually sent me to bed, especially if it was during school. If I missed school I had to stay in bed ... On the hour, every hour she would give me vitamin C and tuck me in,” Dan Hunt, a sophomore from Vancouver, Wash., said.

“My mom would always tell us to take a hot shower if we ever got congested because it relaxes your muscles and then you get a lot of sleep,” Summer Glancy, a senior from Acworth, Ga., said. She would make sure I would always have some kind of liquid by me and that I had plenty of Kleenexes.”

“[My mom] always bought me 7-Up and crackers and made soup for me. She always made sure I had medicine. She would make me herbal tea sometimes too,” Jared Arndt, a freshman from Lewiston, Idaho, said.

Dr. Dean Edell, a media doctor, said that although home remedies haven’t been studied, if they have been passed from one generation to another, they most likely will make you feel better.

Mothers know and use such remedies for common flu and cold symptoms.

“When I get colds, she makes a mustard poultice and puts it on my chest. It’s the home remedy for vapor rub… When I had the flu, she made me drink Sprite and Gatorade, [and] when I had a sore throat I had to gargle salt and vinegar,” Rappleye said. “It was so gross.”

“If I had swollen glands, my mom would put this balm called Sunbreeze on my neck and chest. It’s like vapor rub,” Hunt said.

But at college Mom’s not there to watch over her children. So what do you do?

“[When I get sick,] I’m just kind of frustrated because I don’t want to miss class and it seems like nobody cares. So then I think of home and I make chicken noodle soup, I get some type of cold medicine, drink a lot of water, and get some rest,” Hunt said.

“I make sure I have medication… [and] that I’m stocked up on soup and crackers. I make sure I have a lot of fluids. It’s always good to have movies to watch and a lot of blankets,” Galncey said.

Chicken soup is a favorite for people who feel sick because it really works to reduce cold or flu symptoms. The ingredients in chicken soup have been proven to fight bronchitis, clear congestion, kill bacteria, and reduce lung inflammation, according to www.healthcentral.com.

Roommates can help when you’re sick, but it never is the same as the love you receive at home.

“I miss having my mom around when I’m sick because moms always care. Here everyone has their own problems or they’re sick themselves,” Hunt said, “Moms give you attention and the tender, loving care.”

“What I miss most about my mom is the fact that I have to do everything by myself. She’s not there for that moral support,” Arndt said.