Flu Memories

Happy to report this post is long over-due. Getting better meant getting busy and this blog got lost in the bowels of my hard drive. But here it is...

Day 6 of the dreaded flu. The one I was urged to get a shot for.

This is the first day I am upright in a chair, spurred on by an e-mail about insufficient funds in my checking account. Another worry to being sick means no work and no income so that $34 means a lot right now. Weakness couples with wariness. My body ached in a way I have never experienced in my 42 years and never having been 42 before I suppose age may have tweaked this issue

Mark fell victim first. He complained of a naggy cough that I attributed to an earlier hike, knowing down deep if it was the flu I was next. No quarter. Black flag flapping over my head.

I went through Monday unscathed. Tuesday dawned and as I plotted my work for the week, a cough cropped up. Nothing special. Almost passable as an allergy. It followed me through the day, deepening, growing insistent. I cancelled my Tuesday plans, describing the symptoms to one friend who groaned; “Oh no, Laura, that’s how the flu started with me.”

And for me as well.

Sleep was broken and I am not sure if the weird visions were the result of actual REM or lucid thinking (all were freaky Yellow Submarine-esque). Fever followed with chills and sweats but I was so sick I could not muster the energy to kick blankets off . Even my ankle bones hurt. The worst part was the cough. You never know how much you need abdomen muscles until you have to hack. I feel like I have been working out to Abs of Steel when in reality the only position I can manage is supine on my couch with my eyes closed listening to the Jodi Arias trial. That was a big deal too. I know how sick I am when I absolutely don’t care what’s on TV—much to Mark’s delight. He recovered faster and was able to rejoin the living but I am still firmly planted on the couch, too fearful of relapse. Because only this morning I woke up with a temperature and a high fever and segued into feeling almost (dare I say) good this late afternoon. Relapse is high and I don’t care for a repeat performance. At all.

But the flu also has (eeep!) blessings. Being sick forces indulgence. Read. Watch some bad TV. Read. Let others take care of you. Read. Contemplate the things you take for granted, daily walks, coffee with friends, writing on a whim. Read. And rest to your heart’s content.

 

And read.

Even this 500 word blog is tiring me out.