I Don't Do Sick

I haven't been blogging! Have you missed me? We've gone from Halloween to Christmas and I've barely noticed. Granted, in between there were 2 trips and Thanksgiving, so I have been busy. But writing has really taken a back burner to anything else. My creative skills are lying in a cold frying pan waiting for someone to light the flame.

 

Around the beginning of November, I came down with a bad sore throat and a fever. The doctor ruled out Strep, but put me on an antibiotic and directions for chicken soup, lots of fluids and plenty of rest. The fever subsided and 2 days later, I was feeling perky and energetic, in spite of the cough that seemed to be a residual of the sore throat.

 

3 weeks ago, I lost my voice. That is rare, but this time it was gone for several days. Larry was torn between reveling in the silence and being frustrated as he tried to read my lips. Round 2 at the doctors! More antibiotics and another strep test. (Negative, again). As my voice came back, so did my cough.

 

Week 5 of this nonsense and a third doctor's visit left me with a diagnosis of a sinus infection, a whole regimen of drugs I could take, and more instructions for plenty of fluids and lots of rest. There was only one problem. I felt fine. And it's Christmas. Who gets lots of rest around Christmas?

The common line of thought is that men don't see a doctor when they should. I've started to realize a few truths about Larry and I. 1) Larry is exceptionally good about keeping doctor's appointments, and seeing a doctor when he doesn't feel well. 2) He has no trouble following doctor's orders, for rest, medication, tests, etc. 3) I am not nearly as good as he is.

I grew up with a doctor for a dad, so I will follow their instructions very well, but it is only recently that I realized I am much more reluctant to make an appointment unless I am really feeling badly. I don't get sick very often. The only 'over the counter' drug I take is aspirin or advil.

For weeks people have been telling me to 'get better', 'feel better', 'get lots of rest', plus plenty of advice from others who have found what works for them. Feel Better? I feel fine, mostly,... usually.... and that's the problem. Apparently if I don't have a fever, aches, pains, I don't consider myself sick. A cold is not 'sick'. A sinus infection is not 'sick'. Once the antibiotics kick in and I'm not contagious, I'm not 'sick'. I've been very good about taking the meds. But getting plenty of rest has been a lot trickier.

I'm also realizing that I may 'feel fine', but I'm not at the top of my game. My head is in the clouds, my thoughts are befuddled. I have a hard time planning my day. It has as much to do with the lineup of pills I am taking to combat this sinus infection, as it does the actual sinus infection. Whatever the reason, I'm tired of hearing the inside of my head and living in a fog.

I may be a slow learner, but I'm realizing that I may not be bed-ridden, but I do need to take it easy, rest up, and drink plenty of fluids. I'm learning to go a little slower, and try to push a little less. Even as Christmas looms. I'm really ready to be rid of this. I guess it's time to learn how to 'be' sick.

Final Note: It's taken me a few days to write this. On Friday I suddenly realized the fog had lifted! I still have a week's worth of meds to take, which I will, and I will continue with the fluids and rest recommendations, but currently there is a light at the end of the tunnel....Hopefully it's not an oncoming train.

Christmas Rush

"Christmas is just over a week away and it seems as though there just isn't enough time in the day to get everything done." That statement applies to almost everyone at this time of year. I've noticed I don't have time to blog. It seems as if there are so many more pressing needs. I'll be walking the dog, or shopping in the mall and think of things I want to blog about, but when I get home I 'have to do ........ first'!

A few weeks ago my daughter texted me:  'my Christmas Cards are done, but I still feel like I'm behind'. 'Are you kidding?' I texted back. 'I don't even have my TREE up yet!!' Then I looked at the calendar. It was Dec. 1! Her card arrived in the mail the next day. It was the first one of the season. And that got me worrying a little bit. My cousin has always sent the first card, usually right after Thanksgiving, (for the last 40 years!). I hoped she was OK. I was glad to see her card arrive a week later.

Ok. So what's the rush? I am just as guilty. Until my cards were out and my tree was up, I felt as though the season was running away without me. I started thinking back to when I actually had a job and 2 kids at home that had to be chauffered here and there. My goal was to get the cards out and delivered by Dec. 24. If the tree was up 2 weeks before Christmas we were doing well. As a teacher, a scout leader, and a part of other groups, my focus was on getting packages mailed to relatives first, making Christmas gifts for scouts, buying gifts for other teachers,  and getting things done before school went on break. We usually went on break about 5 days before Christmas and that's when I started my family shopping!

Now I'm retired. My kids are raising their own families (and in some ways emulating the habits they saw in their mother). I don't usually have packages to mail any more and the kids are coming here. Ordering a Christmas card photo with a holiday message and printed signature has taken the writer's cramp out of all the cards with personal messages added on.The pace has slowed considerably. But not the sense of 'the rush'. December 1 and I already was wondering when it was going to get done. In the old days I never had time to worry about it. I just pushed through each day and tackled the next 'this has to be done tonight' project.

1 Week out: the lights are on the house, the tree is up, the cards are out, and most of the shopping is done. The house is decorated with all my favorite tsotchkes (is that how you spell it?)--Hey kids, that's a local word for KnickKnacks. I feel much more relaxed about the whole season now, but I've learned, until all the decorations are up and the boxes tucked back in the closet I will still feel the pressure, even if I still have 3 weeks to go.

I hope you and yours are all able to enjoy the holiday season whether it is rushed or relaxed. (And if you can be relaxed my guess is that you are one in a million!) Enjoy a cup of hot chocolate while you put up the tree and a glass of wine when it's done. Or Vice Versa! Or wine both times! Whatever makes your day a little lighter. Tis the season ... For a Reason.  So savor the moment. What's the rush? You still have a week to go!

Advent--Teaching a Procrastinator How to Prepare

December may have just arrived, but Christmas has been in the works since late summer! Every year we complain that the stores start their holiday promotions earlier and earlier. It seems to test our senses. This year, though, I started thinking about how we view all that commercialism and I came to a new conclusion. Maybe starting to prepare for the holiday so early isn't such a bad thing.

To many people, December is the month we get ready for Christmas, but to Christians, December is the month of Advent. In church each Sunday we light the Advent candle counting down the Sundays until Christmas Eve. Advent is all about preparation. It reminds us that what we are preparing for is the birth of the Christ Child. For all Christians December is a balancing act between the festivities and the focus. Everyday I hear people counting off the 'jobs completed'. "Christmas cards went out today!" "We picked out our tree and cut it down." "Our tree is up!" From baking and shopping to office parties and Christmas Cantatas, the whole month of December is a month of preparation. For a dyed in the wool procrastinator, my attention is much more on the festivities, and less on the focus. For instance...

As a child the feeling of urgency on Christmas Eve added to the excitement. Unfortunately, I carried that into adulthood. I would still be making that Christmas stocking on Christmas Eve so it could be hung by the chimney with care after everyone had gone to bed. In fact, I kind of reveled in the rush to get it done. Over the years I've gotten better, but Christmas Eve will still find me up late getting everything ready. Festivities or Focus?

And that got me thinking about the preparation that goes into the preparation. How often do we fuss because the Christmas decorations have appeared in the stores before Halloween? Being a procrastinator it is easy to jeer sarcastically at them and say the season keeps starting earlier and earlier. But is it possible that those stores are doing us a favor by helping us complete some tasks before the real prepartion begins? For instance maybe I should admire all those early birds that have their shopping done BEFORE Black Friday even arrives.

Lately, I've started to recognize all the benefits of getting things done early. The cookie baker who bakes and freezes her cookies in advance is ready for any party and doesn't have a sink full of mixing bowls and baking pans as she heads out the door. What a thought! Buying that Christmas Tree in September (artificial, that is) means you aren't paying for it in December when money is at a premium. In fact, an obvious benefit of shopping early would mean my January credit card bill would no longer cause a major meltdown in the family budget. I'm not holding out much hope for me for that one. I have multi-levels of reasons that support my need to buy gifts at the last minute.

The point here is that Advent is the time when we prepare our hearts for the birth of Christ. The decorations, the shopping and the parties add to the fun, but probably not so much to the focus. Maybe next year I'll find a way to do some of the prep work in advance so that during this month I can focus more on what Christmas means. The stores have their reasons for getting me started early. It's called 'getting into the black'. But I can take their strategy and work it for me. And I'll call it 'getting the spirit back'.