A Fall Cold

No, not a cold Fall, I've got a Fall cold.

This is about day nine of feeling yucky. It started out as achy muscles. So bothersome that I thought I may have "frozen shoulder" and went online and got some basic stretching exercises to do. They actually have helped and I'll probably continue to do them.

Well, the body aches and general blah feeling kept me in the recliner for several days, I even jokingly posted a picture of what my area looked like where I had been sitting. Halfheartedly thought about cold medicine and dissolved a generic "before the cold" tablet on my tongue.

Next came a scratchy throat which led me to the internet to do searches on strep throat vs sore throat from a cold.  I took OTC painkillers and drank lemon and honey tea and kept watching Netflix, still not feeling like getting up and doing anything. Thought I was "on the mend" as they say.

One evening, all of a sudden, I had a burst of the "I feel really goods" and knowing my body, I prepared for the worst of this cold. A calm before the storm scenario. Yep, sure enough, that night I started coughing and was up every hour to pee, get some water, eat some honey and try to sleep again.

Periodically during this episode of, whatever the hell it was, I was on social media chronicling my days. Actually I kind of enjoyed the comments of "get to the doctor" and "make a hot toddy" and I pretty much planned to stay on the couch and ride it out.

This takes us to the after effects of Cough Night. During this entire time, my friend, who is in from the West Coast has been stopping in for coffee most mornings. I get up and unlock the door, to make it known that it's ok to come in, no need to knock and go on about my morning routine.

Yesterday morning, something woke me from a sound sleep. I had heard him come in and realized, OMG, I left the door unlocked last night and that could have been anyone. I went to roll out of bed to tell him I would be out in a moment or two and I suddenly realized that I was so sore I could barely move.  I made my way out to the kitchen where he was trying to figure out my coffee pot and such. I still had on my pj's and my hair was like a witch and I knew when he looked at me that I looked just as bad as I felt.  I went and put some clothes on and ran a rake through my hair, and went back in to talk. We ran through everyone's usual "getting old sucks" conversation and after a short time, where he really tried to convince me to go to the doctor, he went on about his errands, promising to check in on me, which he and his daughter do anyway, us being friends and all.

I keep plenty of supplies on hand as a general rule and during this entire episode I have told them repeatedly that I didn't need anything, but I realized yesterday evening that I had to have some cough medicine. I was so sore that even slight coughing was making me miserable, not the cough, but the fact that my "core was sore".  I had tried to downplay it, even to myself, but I felt like I had fallen down a hill or been in a car wreck. I was that sore.

I put on sunglasses and a long sleeve, stretchy cover-up that disguises the fact that my untethered breasties are separately lolling happily on my overweight midriff bulge, barely hidden by what amounted to a pajama top, and I went to the CVS.  I got name-brand cough medicine and several other things that I needed and after finding out from the cashier that I was NOT the only one dealing with this bug, made my way home (it's about a mile each way, so no big deal). I slowly got out of the car, it actually was very difficult to push through the soreness, and got inside to take the first dose of 12 hour cough suppressant. Cheese and cracker, I was sore.

I really do have to admit that actual cough medicine is sooooo much better than spoonfuls of honey for a cough. I started to feel better immediately and I felt that I was finally on the road to recovery and was silly for not taking care of this cold earlier, but whatever, blah, blah, blah.

See that last sentence?  The one with the blah, blah, blah?  That is what this entire blog post is really about today.  I hate to take medicine and I never really explain why to folks.  Most everyone relies on meds and rightly so, I would have never been cured of my c-diff if not for the proper medications and I really understand that. Apparently, since I am so rarely sick, I don't realize it when I actually am and I don't see it when everyone else can see that I am.  I am so much smarter than everyone else, after all.

The blah, blah, blah portion of this blog is brought to you by Robitussin. I woke up this morning pi$$#d. I am NEVER in a bad mood. Even when I was PMSing back in the old days, I was never mad. Reflecting on my expansive emotional career, I may feel frustrated when people do things I simply can't relate to, or I might feel yucky when I was sick, or be distraught over a break up and experience sadness over the loss of a loved one. I have been known to be extremely stubborn when I don't want to do something. I feel real sympathy when someone else is going through something traumatic and sometimes I can almost feel the pain that people are feeling...but

I am almost never pissed. I don't get mad. I usually laughing agree with someone who is expressing how mad they are over something, or that they woke up on the wrong side of the bed and were not ready to deal with people, or that they told someone off, but I realized this morning that I almost, as I said, never feel this way myself.  And yet, I woke up this morning mad.  Not mad at anything or anyone. Just effing pissed. No reason at all. This is so weird for me and honestly I don't like it at all and it has to be a side effect of the Robitussin.

I have heard my mother say numerous times that one of the things that she loved about me was that I was the same every day. I think that this was surprising for her, as when all the other teens were moody, I was not. A bit boy crazy, to be sure, but seldom moody. I never appreciated it much back then, but I realize now that it was, and is, a good thing.  I'm not moody.

I've always disliked medicine, but I never really analyzed this dislike. Maybe subconsciously, I have known that it affects my moods, or perhaps I remember that my own dad drank codeine cough medicine for the buzz that it gave him. Most likely that is the reason, but I know that I'm still sore from coughing and in an attempt to shake off the rest of this fall cold, I am going to take take take my meds.  I won't be "trippin on tussin" like Kid Rock sang in Prodigal Son, but I'll probably still be pissed.

Obviously I'm feeling better or I wouldn't have been at the key board for an hour typing this.
Enjoy your day and don't be like me, if you feel bad, take some damn medicine.

Peace out.