Friday, February 11, 2011

Cabin Fever... not just a euphemism anymore

'Tis healthy to be sick sometimes.” Henry David Thoreau



The Sick Child - Gabriel Metsu,, oil on canvas 
c.1660, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

I hope Thoreau is right about that. I'm hanging my hopes on it.  Right now, I'm wondering just how long this can go on.

I live in a home with seven occupants. Three of them have come down sick in the last two weeks, the two smallest members of the family just this week. I'm beginning to think that Cabin Fever is a real maladay. After all, we're cooped up for weeks at a time with no place to run when the first person becomes the viral vector for the rest of the family. Cabin? For heaven's sake, we might as well be living in a petrie dish.

It starts harmlessly enough...sniffles and a runny nose at first. Slight cold, I thought when the symptoms first appeared in the host vector (my oldest sone). Then came the  raging fever, chills, and cough. Oh, great. How could this happen? 







Did it come from here?














             Was this the culprit?


       


Or maybe this?                


Of course, it was probably something more like this:



Naturally, I tried everything to stem the tide of illness. As the victims fell, one by one,
                                   



I tried some of this





      ...and lots of this









But to no avail.

Maybe I should have tried this


By Tuesday, Little Man had been sick with "the crud" (as it was so aptly named by my friend, Dubby) for a few days when Little Beauty started with the runny nose. I knew I had to go into Medical Mode.





   

     I channeled my inner nurse





 




        
         
          And of course, the spirit of the greatest doctor of all time


                    What do you mean he's not a real person?








 I passed out
some of this















 ...A lot of that










  

And even this


I'm kidding, of course.


Mostly, I passed out these
 
Goodnight Hug - Mary Cassatt

I was determined to contain the spread of Cabin Fever. I tried good hygiene practices.

 
           
I tried quarantining the sick.                                       
    
Influenza epidemic of 1918 - Washington, D.C.
                         
 And I even tried praying to the saints


                   I'm kidding about that, too. I know very few saints.
                                                                                 
               I've done all I can.  There's really only one thing left to do....


Woman on the Fainting Couch - Amy Neunsinger

       Rest, drink plenty of fluids, and wait for it to pass. Ugh.
CorrectionFour of us have come down with Cabin Fever. 

I hope you have good health today.


Here is my go-to music for feeling better. It cures just about every malady in my book. Here is my favorite composer (Chopin), my favorite piece (Scherzo No. 2 in B Flat Minor, Op. 31), played by my favorite pianist (Vladimir Ashkenazy).

I swear, that Chopin was some romantic guy. I probably should have saved this piece for Valentine's Day, because to me, it depicts a passionate and intimate evening of romance.
Can you hear it, too?

Well, maybe it's just the fever talking. Enjoy!

12 comments:

  1. Ha ha!! OMG, couldn't stop laughing - though I'm SO SORRY y'all are sick. It's miserable.

    Germs have the upper hand in this world - there's nothing to be done about it, except laugh. Thanks for making me laugh.

    May you ALL be on the mend ASAP! May it be so.

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  2. LOL, Reya...that article you posted from the NYTimes made me realize I'd probably only stirred up the viruses by trying to clean!

    Oh well. I'm staying home today, trying to gain strength enough to join friends for dinner tonight. I'm lucky enough to have a great armchair, lots of hot tea, my laptop and other reading materials, and lovely music...my survival kit! How awful is that?

    I really have so little to complain about. That's why it's easy to laugh.

    Thanks for coming by and wishing me well...May it be so!
    xoxo

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  3. LOL too! We all had it last month and it is no fun...

    Here's hoping you heal fast and sending you healing and loving thoughts...

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  4. Thanks, Vicki...I hear it lasts quite a while, too. I hope the sunshine and warmer temps help a little.

    much love to you, too.xoxo

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  5. ♥ Thank you, Jan. So very good to call you my friend...still. ♥

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  6. Great post, Jo. Way to occupy yourself while suffering! I hope you all get better soon. Spring is coming to St. Louis....in a few months!

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  7. jo what a superb telling of the harsh reality of the "crud". i have gained a pretty good degree of immunity from working with children every day so i can ride out most versions of the "crud" but every so often something new comes along and drags me into the depths of pathetica and i wallow in my own self pity for a while hoping that if someone decides to join me they still have enough energy to fire some love my way!!! get better soon! steven

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  8. Hope your time with Dr. Kildare was productive. You look fine on the fainting couch. By the way, better hold off on the good night hugs until the coast is clear. I know it is hard, but blow kisses. Here's one of those for you now ~~~

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  9. Thanks, Delana...sorry I took so long to respond. Guess I hadn't recovered yet!

    Thanks for the kind words.
    xoxo

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  10. "...the depths of pathetica and i wallow in my own self pity for a while"

    omg, Steven, that's hilarious.

    I've been feeling better for a while (sorry for the delay in response) but now I feel GREAT.
    xoxo

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  11. Thank you, Dubby. Even though I've felt better for a long time now, the hug (or blown kiss) is always welcome.

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