let’s design a new illness

Not that the world doesn’t have enough of them…new bacteria, viruses, and other nasties evolving and proliferating as we speak. But all the ones we have are just no fun. Well, they provide jobs for people who must combat them, and that is good, in these troubled economic times, but those of us who get them tend to be pretty miserable. I speak from experience since I’ve been sick for almost two weeks…had to cancel out on all the fun stuff and stay confined to the house, mostly to my room and bed. There are so many times that I would welcome some days with nothing to do but read and watch old movies, while drinking a cup-a-tea. But with this bug–bronchitis, so my doctor says, an aftermath of the snowstorm and being run down from lack of power, heat, water, good healthy food…and everyone, even my doctor, fell prey to it. I guess there’s comfort in being part of “everyone”, but not when you feel so miserable. No food, not even that cup-a-tea, tastes good. The proliferation of soggy tissues spilling out of my pockets and overflowing the waste baskets, and the constant hacking cough make me totally undesirable to be around. Even my loving husband tends to be in another room, away from the germs I’m spewing about, and I cannot blame him. My eyes burn, so I cannot read—and the old movies seem to get really old. I can’t nap–constant coughing prevents that. But the wonders of modern medicine should right this situation in three (count them) days. (Day two has not shown much progress yet!)
So I want to design an illness that does require those few days of bedrest, when food still tastes good (and someone serves it to you), you have a stack of good books to enjoy, you look good (with the aid of a little makeup), and people come to see you and you don’t talk about the miseries of illness but about happy things down the road. Napping is restorative, and so one day you get up feeling just dandy, renewed, reenergized, and well-read.
Come to think of it–I had one of those conditions once. It was then called “a difiicult pregnancy”. I was told to do absolutely nothing other than rest in bed and take some pills so that I would not lose that baby. I did, and it had a totally happy ending.
And the result of that pregnancy is coming for dinner tonight after having been out of town for two months…meaning I and my box of tissues had better get to the kitchen and start cooking. Think of the steam from the pots clearing the sinuses, easing the coughing… perhaps I feel better already.

Happy thoughts, Ellen

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