I had high expectations for the week of January 6, 2014. Everyone in my house would be back at school/work and I still have one more week before I had to be on the college campus for the first day of spring semester. I was going to get so much done…. Emails sent, projects completed, linen closets cleaned, thank you notes written, journaling tackled…. I was looking forward to this week for a while.
Then I got the flu. Now, let me state this… any time a Mom gets sick, it is bad. Unfair. Infuriating. The flu… takes this frustration up a few levels. I am talking a documented/diagnosed case of the flu. We are not talking stomach flu, which is bad enough. We are talking, lying on the couch for five straight days, body aches that would drown out anyone or anything else; fever, chills, headache that won’t go away no matter what over- the- counter medicine one may take. I fought these things for 48 hours. I cleaned the kids’ rooms, tried to put a smile on my face thinking I had a bad cold. When I kept feeling worse and worse, visited my doctor and filled my Tamiflu prescription, I laid down, and surrendered to the fact that there must a lesson in this that I can learn…even if on my back and in the same outfit for five straight days. …(Sadly that is not an exaggeration.)
Here is what I learned during my “FluGate 2014”
- There is a lot of dust on my ceilings fans.
- Accepting help can be really difficult and is absolutely necessary.
- Though I count my general health among my daily blessings; I STILL take my health for granted. It is amazing what the human body is capable of withstanding.
- That many people think the flu (influenza) is the stomach flu. NOT so!
- You actually CAN say the following statement too many times, “Do you realize I am really sick?” (I learned this when my 7 year old daughter replied, “Yes because you keep telling us.” …..WHAT? I thought kids with a sick Mom, behave… you know…help out, and talk quietly, until she is better!)
- Sometimes, we just have to stop and dismount the treadmill of life to use that time to really think, feel and reflect. It was day THREE when I finally leaned into the fact that my job was to just rest and get better. Those first few days, when I did lay down on the couch, I felt guilty because I was not doing the 100 things I had on my to do list. I was angry (and crabby to everyone) because I did not have the energy to get any of it done.
- Once I completely gave up trying to be a highly productive member of society while sick, and just laid down like it was my job, I started to get feel better, physically, and emotionally!
I always say that Moms should not be able to get sick. Ever. With anything. Though at the time it did not feel temporary, I realize how blessed I am that it only lasted a week (ish). Even so, when you are in the thick of feeling ill, remember, there may be some lessons that you can learn, just by laying on the couch!
(And no, I have not dusted my ceilings fans, yet.)
Thank you! I needed this! I am on day #5 with the flu. I have no husband to care for me and no TVto watch. Ugh! I drive myself to the doctor twice. I have caught up on reading and treated myself to pizza when I finally had some appetite. I am glad that my symptoms have not included vomiting or diarrhea . The painfull coughing and fever and sleeplessness and dizziness were enough to deal with. For tonight I am on the couch again. Sigh! ( or rather, hack, cough, hack!).