I think most people will agree that being sick is no picnic. There is nothing more annoying than wasting a personal or sick day on actually being sick. Yesterday I knew that the cloud was looming, that my throat was not quite right, and that my energy level was not on par… But still I pushed ahead and went to the gym, I did fine.. Then I made dinner for Trevor and I and still I was fine… Modern Family buoyed my spirits a bit but then the fine wasn’t as fine. It started to swoop in. My eyebrows started feeling heavy, my neck felt tight and my throat was more than sand papery.
So when the boom set in I kicked in to my normal sick ritual. The day that I feel sick I always take Tylenol PM about 30mins-1hr before bed. For whatever reason I don’t like taking Nyquil. It makes me feel like a weirdo Zombie. I get slightly sleepy but never tired enough to pass out. So I just end up laying in bed thinking about how I’m going to be even sicker tomorrow and that if I take anything else I’ll OD. I then chomp down a barrage of things: Vitamin C pill, a cup of Airborne, and a normal vitamin (I suck at taking vitamins but when I’m sick this generally makes me feel concerned about my dietary needs, oops). Then as a good mom abiding girl I slather myself with Vicks.
Under my nose, on my lips, and on my chest… I smell delicious, and look like a dream. The final act is wrapping up in sweat pants, socks, and a long sleeve shirt. My cross-country coach in high school told me the best way to beat a cold is to “sweat it out”, so I somehow decided this should be a permanent addition to my sick routine.
Be for warned friends, you wake up looking like a sad reject of your bed. This morning my hair was a bit more smooshed to my face, thanks to the “sweating it out” process. I looked a bit more bleary eyed since waking up from a Tylenol PM coma feels like you slept about 20 hrs. And lucky me, I still smell like Vicks and have a bit more a “glossy” look thanks to the Vaseline consistency. Bottom line I didn’t look like my routine had done me much good. But I do swear that after a good shower I am better off than if I had glugged down a glass of OJ and gone to bed. 
Today my throat still feels scratchy and my sinuses are a bit mad at me, but I think another great night’s sleep and a day off from the gym will put me back in the 90% back to me bracket. I’m really crossing my fingers that I’ll be ready for some manual labor this weekend though, because I want to crank out the patio work like a Yard Crasher work crew.
So there you have it… I have a sore throat. I skipped the gym, and I want to be well again! How do you spend your sick days? Do you have a sick self-care regime?
tadwell 