'Tis the Season

Unfortunately, "'tis the season" includes things other than holly boughs, decked halls, and shiny ornaments. It also includes any variety of nasty bugs that circulate and breed in closed environments such as offices and schools. For many a year, I'd been lucky enough (and nearly obsessive about hand-washing, truth be told!) to avoid catching anything more than a sniffle, but the law of averages caught up with me recently.

It was the polar opposite of fun. Furthermore, while a stomach bug is never to be mistaken with a stroll through a sunlit park, I can say with great authority that the recent consumption of chicken teriyaki does absolutely nothing to render the experience more pleasant.

Luckily, it was a short-lived bug - a basic 24-hour variety. (Okay, it seemed a lot longer at the time, but it was only a day according to the clock.) The truly odd thing about such an illness is the opportunity it provides for the "sickee" to contemplate the concept of gratitude.

Told you it was weird. But it's true.

You discover how many friends you have. For example, Stacked Librarian and I were scheduled to go for our annual Christmas tree hunt; an outing that we had to put off. She couldn't have been kinder about the delay. FryDaddy brought me soup (Chicken 'n' Stars - my childhood favorite) and tucked me in. My colleagues (to be fair, I was [legitimately] described as "peaked" by these same people) basically told me to go home and not answer my phone.

It's nice to know people care. It's also nice to know that the world can spin without you for a day or two when you feel sick. And it's especially nice to know that it's okay to ask for some help when you feel too shaky to be vertical for eight straight hours. And it's sheer heaven to wake up and realize that you're well again.