When I was a kid, I managed to get sick each year during Easter week. One year it was chicken pox, another year it was mumps, then measles, and so on. This year it seems to be some variety of flu.
Delia had been talking about a new virus that was going around for a month or so. Several people she knew came down with it. It seemed more potent than run-of-the-mill flu. People were getting sick enough to actually need to stay home, many times in bed, instead of carrying on with life and contributing to the spread of the disease.
I have become isolated. I rarely do any shopping except online. I no longer attend church services or activities. I have gone several years without taking any Oasis classes or classes of any kind. Delia, however, still shops, attends church and goes to classes. Before I conclude that she brought home our current affliction, I must admit I have been seeing a number of doctors:
- my podiatrist,
- my diabetes specialist,
- my eye doctor and, testing the waters,
- a naturopathic doctor that I may well decide to see regularly.
Doctors, hospitals, emergency rooms, pharmacies and other places that sick people go are good places to pick up infections.
Whatever the source, Delia and I became sick together this year. Delia got sicker than I did but she was in better condition initially. In fact, I would say that my illness was mild compared to the problems I’ve heard other people have had. Delia spent one afternoon vomiting while I never even had feelings of discomfort or nausea. I just felt sort of out of sorts until this morning. Today I woke with chills, varying in intensity, that I have been unable to shake. The coldness extends from my hips to my shoulders and my head feels like it is burning. The feeling of a fevered head has diminished greatly. Sometimes it was accompanied by a moderate headache.
My coming down with illness is not exclusive to Easter week. Many years I have felt depressed and anti-social from Halloween into the first week or two of the new year. One doctor claimed that was a sign of depression. Despite my demeanor, I am generally happy. I pause for a few moments each morning to remind myself of my blessings. I prefer a more rational explanation, that I’m simply feeling disgust at the constant bombardment of pitches for sales of inferior products. This year, despite being mostly house-bound, I have not felt my normal disgust with humanity and its foibles. That, I feel certain, is because I have developed an interest in figuring out how I am being lied to in the various commercial and political messages I am confronted with.
Anyway, I have become ill at Easter, as has been my tradition since early childhood.
Word Wine 