Under the weather

Over the past week I have had my first encounter with "la grippe". (French for the flu) Luckily it has not been a terrible overtaking of my entire body, more like an untimely inconvenience. I've had the soar throat, runny nose, fever and aches, but the symptoms haven't been super intense...

I can say from my experience in college, single adult life, and in England as well, that the only thing worse than being sick is being sick and away from home. Mom is not there to make you soup and spoil you. You have to buy your own orange juice and pick up your own tissues from wherever you've let them fall. It's a shame really...

However, being sick in another country is a whole different experience. I had my first encounter with international illness on a trip to Jamaica in the winter of 1999. During the last night of my stay on the island I began feeling really unwell and thought that I had a bladder or a kidney infection. That night I lay freezing under a sheet as the others travelling with me lay sweating under a ceiling fan... Luckily the next day we started home. During a layover in North Carolina I ended up laying on the floor of the airport covered in coats and surrounded by hand luggage. Then, I took a Tylenol before getting on the plane for the final leg of my journey and unfortunately it broke my fever so fast that even the airline hostess was fanning me with a magazine on board. Ultimately it became known that I had somehow gotten e-coli and that was the reason for my illness...

The next experiences came during my time in England. Most illnesses there were minor colds contracted by riding public transportation...

The funny thing to me is that when you are sick, you seek the comforts of home to a greater degree. You look for "Kleenex" brand tissues, and the type of over the counter medicines you are familiar with like "Vick's" and "Robitussin" Unfortunately, these things might not be available and so you try to make do with what you can get.

Luckily during this recent illness I was able to get Kentucky Fried Chicken mashed potatoes and gravy (a total comfort food for me). And my husband did a great job of pitching in and taking care of me as well. He took over for mom and bought me orange juice and picked up my tissues...

Hopefully next week I'll have a new fun experience to share, but for this week, I'll continue to enjoy my time on the couch...