Of Birthdays and Colds By Konnie Enos

Yesterday I called Bonnie and she could easily tell I am rather sick. She was concerned about me being able to write my post today, but I told her I should still be able to write it. Then I promptly forgot about writing my post in favor of taking care of myself, including taking some naps.

I, in fact, so completely forgot about that I did not remember until one of my several middle of the night trips to the bathroom. And I only remembered it then because my son apparently forgot that today is garbage day.

How did going to the bathroom remind me of that fact?

Because he had not emptied the garbage can in our bathroom, or in fact, any cans in our room. Though the only one stuffed full at the moment is the one in our bathroom. (It’s stuffed because it hasn’t been emptied in a couple of weeks simply because it wasn’t full enough to bother until now.)

Now normally my son comes in our room sometime in the evening on Tuesday to make sure all the garbage is gathered but yesterday the only time he came into my room was to get some pain medicine because, surprise, surprise, he’s sick too. (Sore throat and achy.)

Don’t worry, our bins got to the curb this morning. One, because I had to be up early to deal with my post. And two, because my son realized it needed done and got up early to do so.

And as my brain is more focused on bundling up for some warmth and getting any sleep I can, I cannot think of much to say. Though I am currently remembering something that happened Sunday.

We were at church and I overheard someone asking if that day was the fifth or the sixth. Clearly it was not. I told them it was most definitely the fourth since the next day, Monday, was the fifth. I indicated I knew that for a fact because Monday was a certain gentleman’s birthday, while clearly pointing at my husband.

One of the gentlemen there then decided to guess hubby’s age. Now before he did state his guess, he said he wasn’t good at guessing and wanted to guess low. I’m assuming to not offend us. Now this man does know some of our kids and is aware we have grandchildren. He as at least one himself. He also is well on his way to full head of gray hair and otherwise looks the part of a grandfather.

It should also be noted that our kids are all in their early 30s to mid-20s. It would be safe to assume someone with kids near the same age as yours was themselves about the same age as you were.

Not only did he guess low, but he guessed fifteen years too low. I can assure you that we were not in our teens when we married and started a family. We were almost no longer in our 20s. (Our oldest was born less than three months before hubby turned 30.)

Yes, my husband, with his completely gray and receding hair, apparently does not look as old as he is. Then again, our friend was guessing slightly below his own age which happens to be ten years younger than hubby and I are.

Since I’m coughing, sneezing, and attempting to sleep, which is what my body needs right now, I’m going to end here so I do those things.

Take care.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

 

Of Colds and Lethargy by Konnie Enos

Okay, I’m sick. Not horribly sick. I have some congestion but can still breath. I’ve had a cough but it’s mild. I have a headache that seems to be associated with sinus pressure so I’m taking some cold medicine to combat it but it’s nothing I can’t deal with.

Even though the headache is annoying, I think the worst part is the lethargy. That absolutely achy feeling, like walking through water. A feeling that’s deep in your muscles that just makes everything harder to do.

I feel it most when I’m walking around. Trying to get to the kitchen to get some food zaps me of all energy and then I can’t even figure out what I want to eat.

Under normal circumstances I’ll cook something for breakfast. Often eggs, toast and sausage (chicken) and perhaps some sautéed vegetables (often zucchini). Other times I’ll have more of a brunch and heat up some leftovers. I very rarely eat cereal. But the last few days that’s exactly what I’ve been having every morning.

So far my choices have been Cheerios with blueberries, which I can eat at the kitchen table since my daughter isn’t allergic to them. Or granola, which has nuts in it and I have to eat in my bedroom with the door closed. I’ve actually had more granola than Cheerios because it’s far easier, especially when I can get my husband to bring me a bowl, spoon, and milk. We keep the granola in our room since our kids can’t have it due to the nuts.

Of course, now I’ve eaten all the blueberries and the only other berries in the house are strawberries which I’m obviously not eating. My headache is bad enough without that reaction. We have had bananas in the house, but I’ve tried those before with cereal and I didn’t like the flavor, texture combination.

I will be adding blueberries to the next shopping list. I’ll probably have to add granola too. I’ll have to add the oat milk too since I prefer the taste of that on my cereal over regular milk.

Evening meals are even harder because I know I need to eat but have little or no appetite. So, if there isn’t many leftovers, and we didn’t cook something that night, I’m stuck. My suppers have been yogurt and turkey jerky, or a bowl of popcorn if there wasn’t any leftovers to heat up.

Of course, this lethargy also affects my writing. I’m sure my typing speed is down to about 20 words per minute because it’s just too much effort to go any faster than that. Also, my inability to use my brainpower to decide on what to eat also means that I’m unable to figure out what to write.

Wouldn’t you know it. I’ve been attempting to work on one of my stories recently and this week is my turn to write a post. So, I’ll type a sentence then rest my hands, and eyes for a few before I attempt another one. Which of course, makes the whole process that much longer.

I also haven’t been able to read anything either. Okay, that isn’t a new development. I haven’t been doing much reading lately. I’ve got a couple of books that I got partway through and have just never finished. One I’ve read multiple times, but this is the first time I got distracted from finishing it. I’ve also gotten several new books in the last few years that I haven’t even cracked open yet. I’m going to have to work on that since I’ve bought myself some more books recently.

I actually went though Thriftbooks and most of them are books I’ve read in the past and simply wanted a copy of, or to replace one I lost somehow over the years. So, even now, most of the books I own are ones I’ve read before and loved.

Another thing I’ve been attempting to do, which I haven’t had the energy for this week, is more handcrafts. Then again, I’m pretty much out of yarn. I have a couple of projects in mind, but I’ll have to get some more yarn. A trip to Micheal’s is in the works so I can pick up what I’d like.

As for the rest of my family, the most excitement we’ve had this week is finally the getting tub in our hall bathroom functional. We hadn’t been able to get any water to it for years and thought we’d have to pay thousand of dollars for a plumber to come tear down the wall behind it to fix the clogged pipe.

No. We did have to replace a part, but we didn’t have to tear down the wall to get at it. So, now we have two fully functional bathrooms.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.