Lessons From A Flu

Three days coming. Three days staying. Three days leaving. Oh such fun. And when I do get sick, I get really sick. Like most things in life, I am rarely content with a lukewarm experience. Go with gusto.

I thought I would pass on some of the lessons I learned from this most recent bout with the flu.

1. Buckley’s does taste terrible

But it does help ease a bad cough. That said, most of the medication I took really did not make the process of recovery any faster, it only made the process a bit more tolerable.

2. Fighting a cold or the flu is futile

Unfortunately I hate being sick. I’m sure most people do however I get angry with being sick. I get cross. I get impatient. I get frustrated. I view sick time as wasted time. It interferes with all of my planned activities. I cannot be productive. What I should know by now is that I am best to accept the illness. I should accept the time that it takes to rest and recover as a natural and appropriate response to illness. That is what I should do.

3. Nobody wants to hang out with you

This is particularly true when you experience full-out symptoms: continuous and loud hacking, unstoppable flows from nasal congestion and a general inability to hear and speak clearly. Don’t get me wrong. My friends and family were very sympathetic and supportive. They just did not want to be in the same room with me.

4. Riding a bike is a silly idea when you are sick

At this time of year, I expect to ride outside whenever the weather cooperates. And in the first three days of this flu, I thought that I had to continue my riding. It would make me feel better. Clear the head as it were. Wrong. Nothing worse than trying to put a 40km ride together when you can barely breathe. I tried it once and won’t get back on the bike now until this week-end.

5. It feels good to feel good

When the symptoms start to lift, it is almost a miracle. Almost instantly, you sense the release taking place. For me, it is never gradual. There is a turning point from being deadly sick to being better. It happens in a moment of time. Unfortunately, it did not hold. I went back and forth over a couple of days before I finally started to feel normal again. It is a wonderful feeling to feel good.