Blech

Duuuuuude.

So, last Tuesday I was felled by an illness which I am 98% sure is the flu.  I'm mostly past the body-aching/feverish stage, but I still have congestion and one heck of a cough and I feel like I swallowed a ball of sandpaper.  Since this is day eight of I-want-to-die, I'm educatedly guessing that my germy attacker is not a mere cold, and that this is the real flu, albeit a fairly mild case.

Somewhat tangentially: it drives me crazy when people refer to stomach bugs as "flu," as if influenza, the virus which has killed so many people even in recent history, is indicated by a couple days of digestive discomfort.  I feel like people should know better.  Then again, my assessment of what constitutes basic lay knowledge of medical topics may be skewed by my experience as a child.  My mother was fully conversant with her Merck Manual (until she had to give it up because it exacerbated her hypochondriac tendencies) and I'm pretty sure she was the only mom in town who responded to her kids' complaints of headaches with, "Did you take an analgesic?"  She referred to drugs not only by their categories but by their specific names as well.  Since she passed this tendency to her children, I can tell you without consulting the box that the Dayquil-knock-off I'm currently taking is in fact a mixture of three drugs: acetaminophen (analgesic), dextromethorphan (cough suppressant), and phenylephrine (decongestant).

Hmmm.  We are a nerdy family, aren't we?

I'm not sure where I was going with that tangent, but knowing the real names of drugs is the sort of ability that is really no good unless you've got a blog on which you can show it off, so there you go.

Back to the topic at hand: I'm beyond ready to be done being sick, but I really can't complain, because thanks to the kindness of my sister (bless her) and my husband (double bless him) I got to sleep in three days last week, I haven't had to cook dinner a single time, and my house is still quite tidy.  Were it not for the exponential growth of my laundry pile and feeling like it'd be perfect if I could just dig a hole *in the actual mattress* and never come out again, this would have been one of the best weeks ever.

Despite my illness, the world does go on.  Billa has barely noticed than I am under the weather, and with callous disregard for my sore throat remains dedicated to the all-important task of ensuring that we meet our reading quota of 87,000 books per day.  She loves to crawl up onto the kitchen table, and seems genuinely surprised (and dismayed) when I make her get down every single time.  She continues to make unorthodox clothing choices, such as wearing Daddy's socks on her feet and her own socks on her hands.

Our current family project is the summer vegetable garden.  We started small last year growing grape tomatoes, basil, and banana peppers in pots on our deck, and it was a smashing success, so this year we are aiming higher and having big garden boxes in our backyard.  Bryan and my brother-in-law built them on Saturday.  Here's a before picture of the lumber and the trillion bags of dirt:

For my sick self, the best part of the project was that the children - who love to be outside almost more than they love their own mothers - "helped" all afternoon, and I got to take a nice long nap.  I did miss a little bit of cuteness:

Okay, a lot of cuteness.

But I'm fairly certain that my nap will result in my recovering 5-6% earlier, so it was worth it.

Waaah.  I need some more analgesic.  I'll be back soon-ish, k?

Comments

[Slim]

So with you on the incorrect use of "flu."

I hope that makes you feel better, because it's too late for any sort of antiviral, huh?

[Tracy]

very cute helpers. I'm coveting the boxes, but then again, I have a black thumb, so I will be content with the fact that my little town is finally going to have a farmer's market this year.

get well soonest!

[Hoo]

Aw, so sorry! Much as I HATE getting flu shots I came to the realization that I simply don't.have.time.to.get.that.sick
Props to Bryan for taking good care of you!
Keep posting garden progress - my dad has a 200+ y/o farm that keeps me in zucchini and tomatoes.

[Kim]

About phenylephrine: A doctor recently told me that all it does is serve to raise your blood pressure and it's been shown to have no actual decongestant properties.

So...yeah. Just wanted to pass that along.

[Amanda]

Ooh that bugs me too! It also bugs me when people say they have "food poisoning" when they really have some form of gastroenteritis. Food poisoning isn't contagious, but rotavirus is like THE most contagious thing in existence and 9 out 10 times, it's the reason a person happens to be barfing,not food poisoning.

I've heard the best way to diagnose the flu is if you feel like you've been hit by a bus. Poor thing, it sounds like your diagnosis is probably correct!

Get better soon!

[Diane]

I always thought "stomach flu" was sort of the common name for gastroenteritis. That was what my ped called it when I was a kid, anyway. Now, just calling it the flu doesn't make sense at all.

Kiddos are adorable, as usual! :)

[Lisa]

Ah, the cuteness! Sorry about your flu. It is absolutely awful to have to be sick when Spring weather starts creeping in. Hope you continue to be on the mend.

[Kate P]

This yuckiness must be making the rounds across the country--I had it two weeks ago. Hope you feel better soon.

[Jane Lebak]

It wasn't until I had kids that I realized being sick is actually a luxury. I figure I'm not allowed to be sick for the next eighteen years.

We're right there with you on the 87,000 books a day. And what is it with socks on the hands? My kids have all done that at one point or another, and every one of them, after coming up with this brilliant idea, has then declared him/herself a cat. Did she meow whilst wearing the handsocks?

[ashley]

Great post.

I've started to recognize the main drugs in medications, so I can get the cheapest possible medication. ;-) I'm smart like that.

She's a cutie, that one.

[blog nerd]

Girl, next year--two words: FLU SHOT. It's not a guarantee but when you are a mommy it really can save your butt.

Can't remember if ibuprofen is allowed while nursing but if it is you can take tylenol and ibuprofen together and it is great for killing the aches and pains, the fever and the sore throat.

Hope you feel better.

And YES it is going around the country. My two cousins and my aunt all had it when we were down in Florida. So far we all have avoided it. (We all have shots.)