Ray has been sick for the past several days with a high fever, deep chest cough and general flu symptoms. He is on the mend as of today with normal temperature (at least so far) and an occasional cough that is still deep, but far from the wrenching hack that he had been experiencing. I’m glad to see him with a little life back in him. He’s spent the last few days dozing on and off in a dark room with no desire even to watch tv. Occasionally, he has looked up at me and said with a resigned tone, “This is what you’re going to look like in just a few days.”
Of course, I’m hoping he’s wrong for the obvious reason. Nobody wants to be sick and especially that sick. (I will admit that a little tiny bit of illness can sometimes be nice since it gives you the perfect excuse to just rest for a day.) However, this has not been a little cold or a mild headache. He had had what can only be described as the bona fide flu. Therein lies the rub: influenza is notoriously contagious and I have definitely been exposed.
The real problem – beyond just not wanting to be sick – is that this weekend is grandson Nico’s 3rd birthday and we have a big birthday celebration planned at a beach house in Ensenada, Mexico. Our family will be joined there by Nico’s other grandparents along with his aunt, uncle and first cousin for a cookout and party on Sunday afternoon. Clearly, I do not want to miss this event or be laid up in a bedroom with the flu while everyone else is outside on the beach having fun. (Ray will surely be completely fine by then.) So, with that in mind, I am doubly motivated to add a few preventative measures to my day.
First, I made a turkey and vegetable stew packed full of fresh vegetables so I could get as many vitamins in my body as possible. Second, I’ve been scrubbing my hands with lots of soap as if I’m going in to perform surgery on some poor soul. Third, I’ve been drinking lots and lots of liquids to flush out any pesky germs that might be hanging around hoping to wander to my chest and get started multiplying down there.
I usually think I’m going to make it through flu season unscathed, only to find myself suddenly jumping out of our car and throwing up in a nearby bush because my temperature just spiked. Alas, let’s hope that is not the case this time.
Wish me luck. Send Ray a few good thoughts too. He is not quite out of the woods yet. I can hear him coughing upstairs right now and I suspect, since it’s the end of the day, his temperature may be edging back up. Tomorrow surely he will be well. As for me, I will keep the preventative measures rolling.
After all, we have a three-year-old’s birthday to celebrate. That is all the motivation I need.
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