Translation: My husband brought home a respiratory virus that laid him out on the couch for over a week, and it appears that it's my turn now. I'm still just at the sore throat stage, so there's only the splitting headache, all-over aches and pains, coughing up a lung, and nose running like a tap stages left to go. Thumbs up!
So I started thinking about the pros and cons of being the second person in a two-person household to catch the bug.
Pros:
You get to know in advance what fresh hell of symptoms awaits you each day and approximately how long you'll feel like dying.
You can stop sanitizing everything touchable because it's not going to keep you healthy now. Net gain of two hours free time per day, yay!
You can make the grocery store run for juice, soup, and kitty litter before you feel too awful to go.
Cons:
You get to know in advance what fresh hell of symptoms awaits you each day. Who wants Dread on top of Sick?
Your partner is still sick, so you don't feel right asking for help until you're sicker. This creates a dilemma. How sick is "sicker"? How do you know how your partner is feeling compared to how you're feeling? This is how martyrdom gets started. Can be incendiary. Handle with care.
When you make the grocery store run (you and your initial symptoms of the virus), you have to remember to sanitize the cart handle after you use it as well as before, because your conscience won't let you not do it. Admittedly, this is a small thing. But don't small things suddenly become big things when you're sick?
Meanwhile, the cats don't care who got sick first or who feels worse; they just want fed and their litter boxes cleaned. And if you're lying down, they want to lie on your chest because heated sleeping spots are one more thing cat slaves are good for.
Maybe having a dog would be easier.
. . . Then again, maybe not.
I am so sorry.
ReplyDeleteI hope that all your virtue and the sanitising ensures a very, very mild dose of the lurgy.
I don't think it works that way . . . although wouldn't it be nice if it did? ha ha
DeleteOh dear Jenny this is hilarious post and i still can't stop chuckles :)
ReplyDeletei can relate to your situation so well that in few time of life we also suffered with same problem
bug passing from one to another no matter how much we be careful
my (late) mom used to be extra careful and strict in such circumstances and always blamed me for my carelessness when it happened in my house
she was always "it was up to you that don't let others members of the family touch the sick or his stuff "
i confess i am not as much possessive about this but i do what i can
rest is best option during such illness so rest a LOT
take proper medicines and get well soon you and your hubby!
sending you lots of love and hugs!
You can only do so much to prevent illness from spreading before it wears you out, right? I'm like you, I do what I can but I don't get too worried about it :)
DeleteBlessings.
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
DeleteI wish you a speedy recovery.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Red - I'll be fine :)
DeleteOhhhh sighhhhhh......
ReplyDeleteWaiting for the full onset, of the latest horrible virus. -sighhhh-
Reminds me of some years ago, when the flu, was not being stopped by the flu shots we always get. Our son's family next door was sick. My husband got sick. I remember going to the 24/7 grocery store at 4AM, to get stuff, before I got sick. Awful memory!
Rest. Rest. Rest. Of course, what else can we do, when this sick? But! Cats! At least I had no animals so I was "ahead of the game," that way. ,-)
Lots of gentle hugs....
Thank you, and fortunately, I'm able to get whatever rest I need. Work is not busy right now and I can stay home!
DeleteOh no poor you, maybe you won't get it as badly as your husband did? Cats don't give a damn do they? Gotta love them.
ReplyDeleteGet well soon!
It's quite possible I won't get as sick as he did. Wouldn't that be nice? No, cats don't care :D
DeleteWell, good luck, especially with the martyrdom gig.
ReplyDeleteHahaha! It was a problem in our younger years but not now :)
DeleteFeel better soon. This too will pass, though not without cold/flu misery!
ReplyDeleteYes, there are many worse things in life!
DeleteNo, having a dog isn't easier, trust me. Because then you have to WALK the dog WHILE you're sick. And that's no fun at all. Cats are definitely lower maintenance! :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I was thinking about how you'd have to walk a dog - I will be thankful we just have cats! :)
Delete(Oh, and I hope you feel better quickly!) :)
ReplyDeleteThanks - it'll just be a matter of time, I expect :)
DeleteWishing you a speedy recovery.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan :)
DeleteMay you be feeling much better very soon.
DeleteBriana and I did the same dance last month, I got it first and she got it after, but not as badly.
Now we're doing another version, because she has a painful pinched nerve (or something) that is limiting her movement and making it difficult to walk or especially bend down to pick things up and such.
She has been caring for me and my disability since I had my stroke almost eleven years ago, and now I'm like "Let me do that for you, I need you to be up to driving us to the grocery store this afternoon."
Maybe with some luck and Tylenol we'll get there, but it's not a sure thing just yet.
-Doug in Oakland
And that's the thing about viruses - they'll pass, at least for the majority of the population, but mechanical issues and chronic illnesses are far more debilitating. I hope Briana's issue is relieved eventually, although there will probably be a need for vigilance and extra care on a long term basis.
DeleteSorry to hear that you're suffering, or expecting to be. With us it's my husband who normally brings the virus home and being the 'captive' I usually follow within a day or two. The person who is responsible for sharing is our two year old Grand-daughter, who seems to pick them up at the drop of a hat. The latest thing she is sharing is sickness. My husband is just at the end of it, hopefully.
ReplyDeleteHope it's a mild form if you get the virus and that you soon shake it off.
Thanks, Joan. I hope you don't get the current bug. Kids get so many things and if you're around them, you're going to get them too. I remember when I realized that for the very first time as a young parent! But it was waaay too late then - ha ha Besides, they were worth it, and I'm sure your granddaughter is too :)
DeleteEven after my year of dreadful diseases, and flu and pneumonia shots, I suffer from some mutant distemper --and I'm not even a mutant (I think...). Take care, Jenny, you're important to me --well heck, so am I.
ReplyDeleteMutant distemper - ha ha! The rest of it is no laughing matter, though - you take care, too, Geo. We need you in Blogland!
DeleteOh, poor you...Fell better soon!
ReplyDeleteThanks, e - you had it very bad; I hope mine is milder. I've entered the coughing stage, so things are moving along! :)
DeleteI like your remark about martyrdom. I hope for your sake it is not as bad as your partner's and you recover quickly.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andrew. So far so good, I'm not as sick as he was at this stage in the thing.
DeleteThings could be so much worse - and are - for many folks in the world. What I have is only a nuisance so far.
Flu season is just beginning here in Australia. I plan on staying home a lot, away from the sneezing, coughing crowds. Of course they're unavoidable when travelling on the bus, so I'm back to my usual hold a hanky against my nose as a filter trick.
ReplyDeleteGood idea. Our flu season starts in November and goes through March. So what the heck are we doing sick in April? lol
DeleteSpring cold season has started here, too. Don't know if I'll escape it this time, but I will no doubt know in a couple of days.
ReplyDeleteAt least the cats will be well cared for!
You have a much bigger demand on your time than we do with all the cats you have! I hope you avoid the germs.
DeleteI hope you're feeling better! My husband recently had one of those nasty colds. It threatened to take me down for a few days but didn't manage. I had some sniffles and then it went away. I was SO grateful to have escaped its grasp! LOL
ReplyDeleteSo far I'm not as sick as he was, so maybe (hopefully!) things will unfold here as they did in your household!
DeleteOh boy.....this does not bode well. After you are almost over it, he will no doubt get it again. The circle of life (or disease). Break out the ecchinacea. It may help you to get over it faster and him not to get it again.
ReplyDeleteBit your tongue, woman! We have no intention of getting this a second time! (and life doesn't care, does it?) lol
DeleteBeing the second in line is definitely worse. The dread is awful, and there's the certain knowledge that you'll get no sympathy because your husband's illness is always "worse". Fingers crossed that you'll get a milder version.
ReplyDeleteHey, maybe your immune system got an early heads-up and has been busily preparing a super-effective counterattack...? (Scraping out the barrel of optimism here.) :-)
I'll take those scrapings of yours and make a lovely casserole of denial, Diane! lol It does look like maybe possibly potentially I won't be as sick as my husband was. I'm in the coughing stage now, yay! bleh
DeleteAw, that sucks. Time for the hot lemon and honey (and maybe a touch of rum). It won't cure anything, but if you put enough rum in it, you won't care. I hope you feel better soon!
DeleteLOL! There's something to be said for oblivion, eh? :)
Delete