On the Mend

I've been sick. I HATE being sick. In recent years I've been pretty vocal in thanking God for keeping me on the mainly healthy list because I hear of so many people who struggle with everything from little to big, and I both hurt for them and don't know how they do it.

One of the perils of working on a college campus is being saturated by all the college germs. I have decided that campus is second only to kindergarten in the number of germs it can breed. I'm guaranteed one cold a year out of the deal. This year I got two.

I'm a TERRIBLE patient. Being single for so many years has taught me to be pretty self-sufficient. All these things I "never thought I could do" have come to be pretty easy to do, and generally I hate asking for help, so I just figure out a way to take care of stuff on my own. And as any woman will tell you (single or not), being sick doesn't give you the luxury to sit. Dishes still need to be done, laundry still needs to be gathered, washed, dried, and folded, meals still have to be cooked...and on and on it goes. I normally push through sickness with great determination because I can't afford to miss a beat.

But when I do finally give in...I give in. And at that point I become the world's biggest six month old. I sit in my chair and want to be waited on hand and foot. I want someone to sit beside me at all times, hold my hand, feel sorry for me, and bring me food - and the more sugar involved, the better. (And I'm good at returning the favor, so I don't feel bad about it.)

Unfortunately this round...there wasn't anybody here to do that. So I sat, randomly getting up for more to drink....more medicine...and last night even a trip to the Sonic because leftovers sounded horrible and a burger sounded incredible.

In all of this I missed two days of work, which literally NEVER happens. I don't know that I've missed two days in a row ever in my entire working career. Maybe early on. I just sacked out in the fat chair listening to the TV because to watch it was too painful.

Today, at last, I began to feel better. I dusted most of the house and dragged out the stepstool to hang up some new pictures I bought over Christmas break. Yes....I must be on the mend.