Coldplay
This has been an up and down week. We have all been battling some degree of a cold for what feels like weeks.
I don’t like being sick. At all. I don’t even use the word. I (only half-jokingly) say that I don’t get sick. And for the most part, that’s actually true. I very rarely get sick. Maybe once a year or so. If that. I guess this is my time to shine. Because just as everyone else in the house was on the road to wellness - or at least better - I started with a scratchy sore throat, then a low-grade fever, then what feels like a never ending stream of snot. It is annoying, and I have felt like shit the last couple of days. It has been unpleasant.
In the Army I was often told that “being sick is a choice.” I don’t think that the leaders (and I use that term loosely) that said that meant it as some sort of manifesting thing where if I believe it I can make it so. I think that they were implying that you can overcome anything by force of will. In their estimation, being sick WAS a choice. Being hot or cold was a choice. Being tired was a choice. Being scared was a choice.
I am actually sympathetic to this worldview to a point. The mind is a powerful thing, and I know lots of people - myself included - who have done stuff they would have told you point blank that they could not do just because they made a choice to do it. I am scared shitless of heights, and yet I made a choice to jump out of a plane dozens and dozens of times. You can do a lot if you put your mind to it.
Some things you can’t just will yourself out of. If you are sick, you’re sick. There is no shame in it. Human bodies are susceptible to bacteria and viruses and all manner of injury and illness. We are a remarkable combination of resilient and fragile.
The bad news about being sick: I am a terrible patient. I don’t follow advice. I don’t accept help. I don’t adhere to recommended dosages. I refuse to rest. I really don’t like to drink water. Chicken noodle soup sucks - yes even the special recipe from grandma. I can’ stand chicken noodle soup.
The good news about being sick: I know I am a terrible patient. And I am trying to be better. I may even eat some chicken noodle soup. Well, probably not. But I did consider it for like a microsecond there. That’s growth.
Whether you are a good patient or a bad one, my earnest hope for you is that you don’t have to be one at all. Even when it is just a head cold, being sick sucks. Best to just stay healthy for a long, long time.
Let’s get to this week’s update…