Lipton Tea and Me

I am logging back in here, weak as I am, just to apologize for all the times I have told people I had the flu when in reality I had something much less lethal.

I know this to be true because for the past 6 days, 10 hours, and 13 minutes (or so) i have had the Real Flu.

I am surviving on tea and the 'Quil's, with an occasional Ricola thrown in for solid food.

The worst thing about the Real Flu, apart from the inability to breathe, is how much wasted Bed Time there is. Here I lie, between pink floral 400 count Egyptian cotton sheets, nestled in my summer down comforter from IKEA, fan whirling overhead, Door Closed (!), minimal responsibilities, and I'm too tired to read a lousy book.

Or even a decent one, for that matter.

I did finish James McBride's The Color of Water, which a friend loaned me because the mother in the story is white and she has 12 black children - - which means we are So Totally kindred spirits and would probably be BFF's in real life (sorry for the cynicism, I blame it on a 'Quil hangover.) Actually, I enjoyed it - and am inspired by this woman's tenacity. I love a book that 'tells it like it is', and this one does.

And I read a couple of chapters in A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion - which made me even more ill since I'm barely cognizant of even having children right now, much less educating them.

I'd like to read A Wrinkle in Time before I get well, or go to Heaven - whichever comes first.
It's on the bed with me right next to the Kleenex box, the Vaseline (for the dry, chapped nose and lips), and the remote to the fan- which I constantly use as the fever surges and wanes. Good thing, it's paperback. Maybe I'll have the energy to turn some pages later.

(And don't be thinkin' I'm All Melodramatic. This is the Real Flu. If I was over 50 or an infant, this would be very serious. Oh My Goodness.... I AM one of those...)

This would be the perfect time to try and finish up my book club's May selection, Sacred Influence, but (and I hate to state the obvious...) I'm not sure a self-help book is the thing to read when you might be with the True Helper before the next meeting.

My plan is to try and stay in bed for two more days - and by "stay in bed" I mean in between picking the kids up from school, taking them to band, driving to crew practice, and taking a van load of girls to a restaurant to celebrate Mary-Faith's 17th birthday today. All while trying hard not to exhale my germ-ridden breath into the van.

The Hubs should be praised for doing all the morning routines for the past week, on top of the weekend shuttling. Honestly, I've been in the Twilight Zone and have barely been aware of the comings and goings of the Fam. Good thing he's a hands-on Dad. What do the wimpy dads do when their wives are on their Flu-beds?


When Molly gets home from school, I'm going to walk her through making a triple chocolate cake for us to share when Mary-Faith gets home tonight. I am trying hard to stay very far away from all food prep until I get well (so sad......NOT.)

IF I survive this, I have a great idea for a sequel to the Everyday in May blogging contest from last year. (Apparently the Real Flu makes a person so delirious it blocks out memories of regret from past promises to blog every day for a full month.)

Maybe I'm actually starting to feel a little better. I'm thinking of getting up and doing a load of laundry. Better yet....I should probably just snuggle in and wait for that urge to pass.

If you have a Flu Cure, please add it to the comments. If you want to tell me to Buck Up and Stop Whining....(which means you've obviously never had the Real Flu), post your complaints over here. She gets so many comments, she'll never notice yours.

Farewell.

(I'm certainly not.)