Today, I am sick. But like, temporarily sick. Which, for a chronically ill person, can actually be just a little bit fun. At least, for me it is. Is it fun for anyone besides me? Not actually sure. I’m just gonna keep going.
Yeah, having a cold or the flu or whatever sucks, but people understand the suckiness! I can say, “I have a sore throat, stuffy nose, and I feel awful,” and people tell me to stay home and rest! They don’t question it! They actually believe I feel bad! Awesome.
Also, I gotta say, it’s kind of exciting when I can tell I’m getting sick. Like, I feel bad and want to cancel plans all the time, but now I HAVE to! People WANT me to! And I mean, a temporary illness that is easily diagnosable, has a clear route to recovery, and people actually believe exists? HELL yeah, sign me UP!
Another perk is that you don’t have to try to figure out if it’s your illness making you want to drop out of life for a little, or if you’re just being lazy. You KNOW it’s your illness! (Pro tip, though: if you’re debating this at all, it probably is your illness. When you feel good, you’ll know.) Disney marathons on the couch are considered part of the healing process! A healing process that will, at some point, reach an end! (Caaauuuse honestly… eternal Disney + the couch can actually be kind of a drag, I’ve found out.)
When I feel bad because of chronic illness, I don’t actually WANT to stay home all the time, it’s just all I can do. And that feeling’s kind of indefinite. So, although when I’m done with Temporary Sick, I’ll still have Chronic Sick to deal with, it’s nice to be able to feel like I can see an ending point.
And so, with that: My throat hurts, my head hurts, I am grumpy, my brain feels like a big wad of goo I have wrench all of my thoughts out of, and literally every inch of my skin is sensitive and sore. I have the flu. Yay!
Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash
Spilled Inklings 