Sickly

You know how women are always complaining that when a man gets sick, it's as if he thinks the world's revolutions have come to a complete and utter standstill, and everyone in his proximity must kowtow to his every whim because he's surely dying of a runny nose? I'm not really one of those women- not that I think a lot of men don't often act like that, but I choose to ignore them.

To my way of thinking, unless you're under the age of, say, five, you don't need your mother coddling you when you're sick. My children have some pretty healthy coping skills, and basically they know to rest and drink lots of fluids and make it to the nearest toilet on time when they're sick. They generally don't get sick often, and I guess they've learned that I'm not going to hold their hands- not only that, but when they're truly sick, all they want to do is sleep. The only special thing I might consider is allowing a bottle of water in their room for the duration of the illness, which normally doesn't happen. If you're a fully grown man and you still need to be coddled, you might as well call your mother, because I don't have the time, energy, or an RN after my name to deal with you.

People who are chronically sick might get from me advice to revamp their diet into something healthier, drink more water, and I might even go so far as to suggest vitamins added to their daily routine. I'm talking people who just get colds a lot, not the people who actually have something other than a simple virus wrong with them. However, if they choose not to follow my advice, I have no sympathy at all for them when whatever ailment they suffer from returns.

All of that being said, today I am sick with a cold that everyone else in my family has had a couple of times this season. I haven't had a cold in I don't know how long- I don't get the sniffles or fevers or achiness even as often as every two years. Now, though, I am feverish and achy and my throat hurts something fierce, which is made even more painful every time I need to cough. I simply don't feel well, and all I want right now is to be left alone in my misery.

I suppose that's why I tend to ignore most adult whining about sicknesses. I don't suffer from them very often, but when I do, I want to be left alone with a book and a box of kleenex, and if it gets really bad, a bottle of Nyquil. I can't understand a person who isn't feeling well wanting someone hovering over them, bringing them things, and just generally being there. What would someone be able to do for me? I have a horrendous cold, which means I feel like crap. I would feel like crap whether I folded the laundry or not, so I might as well fold it.

The only thing I'd like to get out of doing when I'm sick is cooking dinner, but mostly because I don't want to breathe my sick germs on everyone else's food- and the sight and smell of food is a huge turnoff right now. However, this illness came from everyone else, and there's no one else to cook dinner. So I'll do it, and then retreat to my corner of the couch, where I can curl up under a blanket and not talk to anyone.