Sick, but not Whiney

I hate being sick. I think it's because I'm a task oriented person and being sick interferes with my plans of getting things done. And it's not just "stuff" that needs to get done, but there are lots of good books on my shelf that I wish I could read, and there's an AMAZING park that I discovered last week that the kids and I should go to again, and there's recipes that I want to try with Kezia, but....

I'm sick.

And on the flip side, it's not like the household stops when Mama is sick. Nooo...kids still need to eat and laundry still needs to get done. I can't lie in bed all day because Carl needs to get to the library to finish his thesis. Finish that thesis, finish that thesis.

I don't think I'm a whiney person when I'm sick, but I'd sure like Carl to pamper me and bring me hot apple juice and tylenol when I feel yucky.

Last week at homegroup (I was getting over some other cold bug), Tamara and I were talking about workaholics that get Mono and they usually die or get chronic fatigue syndrome because they won't stop and rest. And we joked about Rhonda, who is always on the go, that if she ever got Mono, Tamara and I would have to break her legs so that she would stay in bed and rest (because we love her very much and don't want her to die!). But then I got to thinking today, while I was grocery shopping and feeling absolutely awful, maybe I have Mono! Eeek. Maybe I should be at home and rest! Well, that thought disappeared like fog hit by a sunbeam, and by the time I was home, I was rushing around getting stuff done, chatting with the kids, even though I felt gross.

Well, I was up for making dessert for homegroup tonight. It was 2 p.m. and I was feeling like I just wanted to collapse into bed, but I had to make this dessert (which was something I was also craving, so the baking was part selfish, part obligation). I checked my email and found out that dessert was already covered and Rhonda says, Take the night off Kathy! Oh what a relief. And then Carl comes in from the library and after a while says to me, Kathy, you should go and lie down. Even though it was just for an hour, I felt so much better after that. And I was able to enjoy homegroup this evening, especially since I and the kids were able to just come without having to prepare anything.

So I've been reminded that the world can go on without me, and I can afford to take a break, especially when I'm sick. No one minds. And even though I'm not whiney, I'm slowly learning to take it easy.