The woman’s brain when sick is a curious thing. It tries desperately to ignore the symptoms of some upcoming ailment, and push it back into the far recesses of the mind — under the impression that if the brain doesn’t accept the fact that it’s getting sick, maybe it just won’t happen.
The woman can go along with this for hours and days, on the verge of being sick, but not admitting it. The brain slowly pushes away the thoughts of runny noses, blocked sinuses, earaches, etc and focuses instead on any little detail that will help distract it. Housework suddenly seems more appealing, laundry gets sorted to within an inch of its life, and all that oddball cleaning that you’ve been putting off for awhile seems to get done quickly, and without complaint as it is far better to be able to windex than be laid up sick.
Eventually though, the woman has to accept it, as it comes full force one morning, just when you think you’ve got it beat. You take vitamins and antihistamines, eat copious amounts of oranges and chicken soup, sanitize everything as you pass by, but still — it gets you.
It wraps itself around your head, and like a parasite, sucks all the energy out of you. Dressing your children seems like building a rocket ship with instructions written in Chinese. Brushing your teeth is a chore unto itself and seems unrealistically complicated.
Successfully getting out of the house and on with your day means doing the mental checklist three or four times, rather than once or twice, as the Sudafed-induced fog wrapped around your brain causes you to forget the basics — keys, wallet, or even pants. The checklist usually includes two or three things that are given the backseat to the sick brain — pushed aside, as in “I’ll deal with that when I’m feeling better”.
But the day goes on, the works gets done, the children are shipped off to their varying locations.
The end of the day is always at the top of your head though, as you imagine your warm bed, a cup of tea, and the blessed silence after the children are put to sleep.
So, as I stumble through the day today, I apologize for the pitiful ranting about being sick, and will promise a better blog tomorrow. Cheers to all who’ve been through it, and come out the other end!
