I missed out on the daily meditations Friday through Tuesday but I have an excuse. I was sick. Here are some of my thoughts while I was laid-up.
Everything seems to slow down when you're sick. Every moment is stretched out. Not like in Star Trek: Insurrection, where the beating of a hummingbird's wings takes a couple of minutes, but where you can't believe it's only been X minutes since the last time you looked at the clock. Take, for instance, Friday. Friday lasted two-and-a-half weeks. Strange, I know, but being sick made it so. Sleeping takes on a whole new dimension. You close your eyes, exhausted, and then open them at least an hour later to find out only five minutes has passed. Repeat this a couple more times, get sick of it, lift your head to get up, the dizziness hits you, so you hit the pillow again. Five minutes, five minutes, five minutes. Until you're so sick of it, you exclaim to the cold-gods: Next time I wake up, I'm getting up, spins, chills, I don't care!
Except the next time you get up it's seven hours later. Your mouth is dry, your bladder's full. A plaintive thought: Why, if my body is this full of fluids, can't it spare some for my mouth?
You'd call for a glass of water, but your mouth is full of clay. You'd go to the bathroom to empty your bladder (and maybe get a drink) but you're under the blanket - THE ONLY WARM PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE. So you sit there until your bladder is ready to burst and your throat is rejecting your pathetic attempts at swallowing and the two send you flying from the bed to the bathroom where relief of two types waits. Finally. Taking a deep - no, deep is too deep. Taking as unshallow a breath as you can, you realize the folly of this, collapse in a fit of coughing and decide to go back to bed. A couple of rounds of five-minutesy drive you from the bed to conquer the day, watching Flash Gordon, Dune and Big Trouble in Little China.
Oh, except that instead of you, that's all me.
I'm extremely grateful to my wife who was willing to let me get better while she took care of the kids. She's definitely the stronger parent.
Everything seems to slow down when you're sick. Every moment is stretched out. Not like in Star Trek: Insurrection, where the beating of a hummingbird's wings takes a couple of minutes, but where you can't believe it's only been X minutes since the last time you looked at the clock. Take, for instance, Friday. Friday lasted two-and-a-half weeks. Strange, I know, but being sick made it so. Sleeping takes on a whole new dimension. You close your eyes, exhausted, and then open them at least an hour later to find out only five minutes has passed. Repeat this a couple more times, get sick of it, lift your head to get up, the dizziness hits you, so you hit the pillow again. Five minutes, five minutes, five minutes. Until you're so sick of it, you exclaim to the cold-gods: Next time I wake up, I'm getting up, spins, chills, I don't care!
Except the next time you get up it's seven hours later. Your mouth is dry, your bladder's full. A plaintive thought: Why, if my body is this full of fluids, can't it spare some for my mouth?
You'd call for a glass of water, but your mouth is full of clay. You'd go to the bathroom to empty your bladder (and maybe get a drink) but you're under the blanket - THE ONLY WARM PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE. So you sit there until your bladder is ready to burst and your throat is rejecting your pathetic attempts at swallowing and the two send you flying from the bed to the bathroom where relief of two types waits. Finally. Taking a deep - no, deep is too deep. Taking as unshallow a breath as you can, you realize the folly of this, collapse in a fit of coughing and decide to go back to bed. A couple of rounds of five-minutesy drive you from the bed to conquer the day, watching Flash Gordon, Dune and Big Trouble in Little China.
Oh, except that instead of you, that's all me.
I'm extremely grateful to my wife who was willing to let me get better while she took care of the kids. She's definitely the stronger parent.
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9 comments:
I'm usually the exact opposite when I'm ill. the last time I was down sick, a few weeks back, I went to bed sometime Friday afternoon, and woke up at 5 pm...on Saturday. I just basically pass out of consciousness completely, and have no trouble remaining in a state of slumber until I've shaken off whatever bug has infiltrated the defenses.
I'm only posting to comment on how bad of a movie Star Trek Insurrection is.
That is all.
Also: blankets are awesome.
I was willing to let you get better? I didn't think I had a choice in the matter. You were dead on the couch and the kids didn't stop needing parenting, feeding, and cleaning.
If I'd known it was a choice I'd been making I think I'd have negotiated for better terms.
THIS is when you do that, Kim. Now he's all grateful and crap, and those are feelings that can be easily exploited for personal gain!
Crap, I might be too late. I've been puking all day and he's been taking care of the kids. I may have used up all my extra credit.
Damn! Yeah, once you're better, the two of you are even again. Obviously, seeing that you had attained a position of advantage, he made sure to pass on his illness to you. Probably kept spitting in your food when he was sick.
Liam.
April Classic.
You can get your jacket back.
oh man! hope you are both feeling better. i HATE the sickies!!!
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