I'll give you a minute because I know that's a stunner.
...
Okay.
I just want to go On Record with the following:
1. I wash my hands constantly.
2. I keep hand sanitizer in my car.
3. And I use it as soon as I get in after I've been anywhere.
4. I use the antibacterial wipes on all shopping carts.
5. If Rick sneezes or coughs--for any reason--I will not let him kiss me on the mouth.
6. And then I interrogate him sternly, "Are you sick? Are people sick at your work?"
7. I don't eat or drink after anyone. Ever.
8. If someone near me is sniffling, sneezing, or coughing, I hold my breath until I am well out of their space.
In spite of all of this, AND A VACCINE GOTTEN IN A TIMELY MANNER (Mid-September), I got the flu. A lot of the flu. A bigass bunch of ass-kicking, no-prisoner-taking, bitch-making flu. Was I sick? Oh, ha ha. It is to laugh. My already lousy immune system rolled over and played dead immediately, taking all my dignity with it.
It was only in the last few days that I have finally felt truly well and entirely myself. And been able to go on my entire walk. The whole thing was/is completely ridiculous and I could not be more annoyed. I couldn't do a damn thing!
But let's not say another word about it. Because that would be letting the terrorist win. (One positive--I lost about 10 pounds.)
Before The Episode I had plans for this blog and things I wanted to write about. That is still my mission. And I have Things To Talk About beyond that. I'm glad to be back.
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I'm so sorry to read this. You can do everything right and still fail. Fate screwed you over, but now that you're on the other side of The Episode I look forward to reading what you want to write when you feel like doing so. Take care.
ReplyDeleteAlly Bean--Thank you. And I love that Truism: You can do everything right and still fail. It is the twin sister of Life is not fair.
DeleteGetting the flu really sucks! Especially when you've been careful. I'm glad you can report to being back in the game again.
ReplyDeleteJean--Oh, it does! Thanks, and I really am happy to feel All Nance, All The Time.
DeleteI am glad you are back! You certainly do not want to miss the exciting things happening in the world (i.e. creature orange and his shenanigans, etc.). We simply do not want the terrorists to win (psst they already did, we still have to take off our shoes when flying). I will be looking forward to hearing from you! Peace
ReplyDeletesusan q--Me, too. I did try to unplug from most of the unpleasant happenings while I was ill, but it wasn't possible. The terrorist I was referring to specifically was the flu; I'm sadly aware of how the terrorists in general have won. Sigh. I'm sure I'll be even more aware when I have to get the new Real ID drivers license this year. Thanks for hanging around and reading!
DeleteIt is indeed unfair but sometimes you do all the right things and Mother Nature smacks you. Sorry you were so ill despite doing everything possible to prevent it but glad you are on the mend. I've missed you and I'm happy you are back.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn--Thank you so much. I've been missing you, too, and think of you more often than you know.
DeleteI'm doing fairly well. Cancer markers indicate the chemo is effective and my oncologist is expecting another remission. I'll have another series of chemo and then we will do scans to see where we are. I remain optimistic and realistic. We take what we get.
DeleteCarolyn--Thank you for this update. I very much appreciate it. I will continue to hope for only the best outcomes for you, and that this spring brings you a sense of great joy and renewal.
DeleteI have read that the best time to get a flu shot is between Halloween and Thanksgiving because then it is at its strongest level when the flu is most active. It has worked for me so far, although I have no scientific evidence to back that up. I’m sorry you’ve been down for thecountbut glad to hear you are rallying.
ReplyDeleteDiabetes...Family--That's interesting. I've never had the flu before, and I get my shot at the same time every year. I do know that this year, a strain hit Ohio particularly hard; so many people were down with illness.
DeleteThank you for your kind words and something to think about!
Ugh. I had that same thing last March, and it is brutal. I'm glad you're on your way back to the land of the living.
ReplyDeleteBridget--Oh, it is! I'm sorry you had to go through it, too.
DeleteYou crack me up and clearly it didn't wipe out your sense of Humor, but I am glad you have beat the enemy and won the battle! I hate getting sick now I'm at this season of life where I don't bounce back, so I take as many precautions too as I possibly can. Raising a Grandchild makes that more challenging, since you know how kids are about dragging Home all manner of illnesses from their Generation, who aren't nearly so Careful about avoiding sickness, since they've got Youth on their side and a Carefree attitude about life in general. *LOL* Anyway, that said, there are some Flus that scare the Hell out of me... we just lost a Great-Grandchild who lives in another Country to the Coronavirus, she was only 5 Months Old, I cannot Imagine the level of Grief our Grand-Daughter will now have for the rest of her Life, losing a Child!?!?! It took her very quickly and apparently doesn't manifest like anything as Serious as it is... which is scary stuff to consider for all ages... so I Hope they keep it at bay in this Country? I don't think the quarantines are too extreme given the fatalities are so devastating and rapid. Makes me wonder how these new Virus manifest? It is a morphed old Virus that just got more aggressive? I'm glad yours was of the variety you could recover fully even tho' it was a brutal strain.
ReplyDeleteBohemian--Please accept my profound sympathies on the loss of your great-grandchild. What a terrible sadness!
DeleteEven the domestic flu has already taken so many lives, especially children's. And you're right--the viruses seem to hitch a ride on kids and those not so careful or not able to stay home and take care of themselves. I hope those hard at work on the Coronavirus make a significant breakthrough soon.
Thanks for chiming in here and wishing me well.
You probably came in contact with 'kid germs, they are the worse kind of germies, lol. I'm glad you are on the mend.
ReplyDeleteHappy Paczki Day... Spring is on its way...
Denise--I'm wondering if that's what happened! I just realized today was Paczki Day, too. Have one for me!
DeleteWelcome back! You've been missed. Sorry you were so sick. It seems as though each year I hear the flu is worse than the year before....do take it easy and don't do too much all at once.
ReplyDeleteVera--Thank you. I did try to at least read everyone's blogs even though I did not comment.
DeleteI think you're right that the flu seems to get worse each year. I also seem to hear that 'this year's vaccine will only be 50% (or less) effective on the current strain of flu.' What the heck?
Bummer! That happened to me back in the fall. Glad you are now at least able to post and I hope you continue to recover and make my day by posting.
ReplyDeleteMary--Oh no! So you too! It's just terrible, isn't it? I'm glad to hear that my posts brighten things up for you. I hope to post much more often this year. I would certainly like to. I see that you've already begun posting more often. Good for you!
DeleteDee--Thanks. And that's a perfect metaphor!
ReplyDeleteDearest Nance – So glad to see you back and recovered from the horrible flu ordeal! Seems like the more precautions we take, the less it matters in the end. Although I still think one should forge ahead with all precautions, regardless. Mr. O. and I got flu shots around the end of September, and have thankfully not been hit with it. (Yet?!)
ReplyDeleteI worry about this type of thing a lot since I teach on a university campus with 40K students, so exposure to possible flu, etc., is huge. And in the “etc.” we can include the now very scary Coronavirus. (Our campus also has a *huge* population of foreign students, many of them from Asian countries.) Just read the very sad comment from another reader who lost a great-grandchild to this. I have been following this closely in the news, and not wishing to be alarmist, but… so many factors point to a pandemic: No vaccine, no natural immunity, and no clear understanding of how it is transmitted, how long people are infectious... and a lot of other et ceteras... such as countries running out of supplies of reliable (?) diagnostic kits. Too many unknown factors and too little we can reliably do right now to contain this. And, uh… over 80,000 people infected in just a couple of months. https://tinyurl.com/wraalse Let’s hope governments in all countries are getting prepared as best they can.
O.K. – Enough gloom and doom! I am very much looking forward to your future posts, and wish you and Rick continued improvement in the health area! XXOO
Ortizzle--I have thought a lot about places like airports, universities, hospitals with international clients (like Cleveland Clinic), etc. It's impossible to think that something like Coronavirus can be truly contained. A pandemic seems within the realm of possibility.
ReplyDeleteRick is doing well, thank you, and has been back to work since the beginning of February--a whole month early. I hope you and Mr. O. are well, too. XXOO
I have a coworker who just got sent home today with flu (our nurse did a swab test on her). She was so mad - her daughter got sick last week & she did all the things (changed linens, used hand sanitizer, wore a mask, washed her hands...). She said she might as well have just gotten into bed with her daughter. Of course AS SOON as she left I felt flu-ish...
ReplyDeleteI'm SO GLAD you're feeling better! The interwebs haven't been the same without you. Really!
Bug--Your coworker and I are Germ Fighter Friends. I bet she switches her own and everyone's toothbrushes after being sick, too. Nothing makes me madder than illness. It brings out the Superhero in me; I just want to FIGHT.
DeleteAnd I certainly get that "Uh oh, do I feel warm and flu-y?" feeling. As soon as someone near me gets sick, I start self-assessing. Sigh. I am a project.
Thank you for missing me. I missed everyone too. Really!
Oh Nance! You poor thing. I am so glad you survived the "killer crud" and are on the mend. I have heard so many people say they have been sick. Some have had it twice. Please take car of yourself and your family. Much love to you.
ReplyDeleteKaren--It's always so pleasant to see you here, knowing you're out there still reading and thinking of me now and then. I hope you're happy and well and WARM.
DeleteThank you for your kind concern for me and my men! We are all happy and well. XXOO
Ive missed you Nance!!!!!! I hate the flu. I hate colds. Waste of our time. You should see me clean a grocery cart before I touch it. It is more than a bit OCD
ReplyDeletekathy b--Thank you! It's lovely to be missed, truly. Colds especially are ridiculous in this day and age. How have we not eradicated them by now?! I'd love to see you go over a shopping cart with a sani-wipe; I bet it's epic!
DeleteI'm sorry you haven't been well (although losing 10 lbs sounds like a fair consolation prize from where I'm standing in the middle of the Land of Baked Goods) but glad to hear you're able to get out and about again. The real flu (as opposed to annoying viruses that people get for 2 days and then refer to as 'flu') takes it out of you, doesn't it? I have had it (the real flu) only 1 time in my life, and I still remember it with painful clarity because it was the only time in memory I remember feeling so weak and washed out that I knew I Could Not do anything except lie in bed. (I still remember my (ER nurse) sister-in-law saying, "If someone tells you they 'think' they have the flu, they don't have it. When you have the flu, you KNOW you have it.") But (as always) I digress. Here in grey and rainy Germany, the crocus have begun to pop up, which ,in my opinion, is the very least that Nature can do to make up for all the atrocious weather here. Funny, I lived here in my teens and don't remember ever noticing the almost-constant rain and cold at all, but now that I'm a crotchety Old Broad it's all I think about. Sending you warm wishes for sunshine, health, strength, and (selfishly on my part) inspiration for some more of your skilfully-worded posts that I so enjoy. xx
ReplyDeleteMsCaroline--Oh, how perfectly lovely to hear from you! I am almost tempted to another Blog Hiatus, just to bring you and Karen and other delightful absentee Commenters out of hiding again.
DeleteGermany is truly the Land Of Carbohydrates, along with lots of Eastern European countries whose tasty dishes have led me into many indiscretions (pierogi, paprikas, spaetzle, etc), especially in my youth when Croatian relatives used to bring homey dishes to holiday get-togethers.
Grey and rainy pretty much describes NEO lately, although we are expecting snow overnight. It won't last since the temps are going up in a few more days when it will be grey and rainy for the forseeable. Again.
Unless your warm wishes change all that! Here's hoping, and thank you for your kind and flattering words. They mean a great deal. XX
Welcome back! I’m glad you are feeling better, and that you vanquished that stupid Flu. I have had a bad flu a couple of times in my life, both with and without getting the shots, and I always feel like death is around the corner, and at some points might even be welcome. Dramatic much? Perhaps. I guess the 10lbs is good, if you wanted them gone, but what a miserable way to lose them!
ReplyDeleteJ@jj--Thank you. I'm glad, too. It's easy to be dramatic--or melodramatic--when overcome with flu. It feels like Forever, truly, and as if we'll never ever be well again.
DeleteI did want the ten pounds gone. I had been overly indulgent with sweets and treats and lying about with sloth, and it had begun to show. Not eating for a week was not the Optimal Way to lose them, but Silver Linings, right?
I just found this report — welcome back — to the surreal land of Coronavirus. Do take care of yourself. BTW your Mom is likely as disappointed as I am that neither of our Big Bear Bald Eagle eggs hatched but they’re still sitting on them, none the wiser the eggs never will now.
ReplyDeleteJoared--Because of her condition--Alzheimer's--my mother rarely realizes that the eggs won't hatch. I remind her often, but as you know, it doesn't stick with her. I found a different eagle cam with two eaglets, and I think I'll just switch her over to that.
DeleteThanks for the welcome, and I'm taking the usual precautions. With cases recently announced right here in NEO, I am super-vigilant.
Sounds like a good idea to locate some eaglets elsewhere for your Mom to view. I’m curious about how long it will take these eagle parents to give up on these eggs but check them only rarely.
Delete