Flu, flu, flu… It’s talked about everywhere: on the national news, the local news, on the streets.
My philosophy has been to ignore it and hope it goes away, but I woke up several days ago, throat sore, muscles achy.
I was definitely “under the weather.” Not wanting to spread this “bug,” I called, texted and emailed, canceling appointments and preparing to stay home and heal.
After a breakfast of peanut butter on a toasted English muffin (this bug didn’t seem to mind being fed), I went into “sick” mode. I set myself up on the living room sofa, placing a tissue box, a spiral notebook and two novels on the coffee table at my fingertips on one side.
On my other side, I placed an eye drops bottle and a small tube of lip balm. A heating pad on my back and a pillow and three blankets along with Mr. Magoo, the pug, completed the arrangement. He snuggled up next to me, contentedly licking his paws, happy to be in his second favorite place in the world, his food dish being first.
The hours passed as I napped, woke up, read, and lay there, resting. I was bored, but feeling better.
Unfortunately, during a rest time, I began to notice things not normally at the forefront of my mind.
Was that a layer of dust on the ceiling fan paddles? Thought I just dusted it. Well, maybe not that recently. Okay, last May. I vowed to put it on top of my “to do” list.
Closing my eyes, I tried to rest, but when I opened them and gazed across the room, I noticed one of my favorite pictures, an apple tree in winter, was hanging crooked. Another task to put on my “to-do” list.
Really? Couldn’t I get any rest? Turning my back on everything and shutting my eyes, I hoped for some sleep. But this time, a small rustling noise alerted me. Now what? I turned to find the source of the noise and saw a dry croton leaf lying on the floor next to the sofa. Rats. The plants needed watering. I told myself to ignore it and go to sleep, but my eyes kept roaming. Dang. The window blinds needed a good dusting.
The last straw was the small artificial Christmas tree perching on top of a high kitchen cabinet, unintentionally forgotten since the holidays.
I jumped up and stomped off to find my eye mask. When I did, I returned to my sofa and clamped it over my eyes and kept it there.
Leave a Reply