Wednesday 9 December 2009

Random Thoughts While Home with the Flu

"The more anger towards the past you carry in your heart, the less capable you are of loving in the present."  Barbara De Angelis

I read this today and was glad it was one of the truths I discovered a long time ago.  I think my profession helped me understand it back when I was very young, still in my early twenties.  If a teacher harbours grudges she will not be happy in her job.  A classroom is one of the situations in which a short memory is an asset.  Every day has to be a new day.

Oh, I have forgotten the lesson at times ... I'm still not very forgiving toward the incompetent doctor who misdiagnosed and mistreated my broken dislocated finger ... and I still do not trust the Hull and Gatineau hospitals ... but generally speaking I forgive easily ... and indeed, often forget as well.

Old spouses and lovers have long ago been forgiven.  As have my parents.  I think once I understand why an adult  acts as he does, it is easier to get over a hurt, a fear, or a bit of cruelty.

Thank you, Barbara De Angelis, for the reminder.

I am nursing a flu bug.  Well actually, I am treating myself very gently, and enduring the flu bug, swatting it with regular blasts of Cold FX which bolsters my white blood cells' ability to do the actual fighting.  I am also fueling my immune system with Vitamin C and drinking plenty of hot teas and water ... (and just a little wine).  As well, I am dressing in cozy snuggly bugglies and an old cashmere turtleneck I brought back from Mongolia ten years ago.The sore throat began on Monday and my choice of treatment seems to be working well, as I am already feeling better today than I did yesterday.

And now we have our first winter storm arriving so I will be snowed in until I have the energy to dig myself out.  This means that I likely won't be doing much besides resting and pampering myself until Saturday.

I do hope that we don't lose power.  These winds are very strong and gusty ... the kind that hydro poles seem unable to withstand.  And my wood supply has not yet arrived.  I have a few bags of logs ... but not enough for any lengthy outage.

If necessary I will get Peter to help me pick up more logs tomorrow.  I think he will be coming.  And now that we have snow I can get my big order delivered next weekend.

I think I will start my gift for Le Hibou today ... the base coat anyway ... and then it will become something to play with.  I am planning a Zentangle owl with just a single splash of colour.

Good thoughts needed by Pat, who is getting heavier doses of a stronger antibiotic to help her weakened immune system, and by Shea (Tamarak's dog) who is having surgery tomorrow.  We hope it will be to remove the lump, not the front leg.  Dogs are great at adjusting to three legs, but Shea loves to swim and that might be harder to manage than walking and running.  Maybe we could fit him with a small rubber flipper-like prosthesis if it became necessary.  Now there is a puzzle for an inventive engineer to solve!

3 comments:

Barbara Carlson said...

I have been reading but not commenting, sorry.
Hope you are feeling better, and slowing down for a few days will help.

Re your question: what are we doing on Christmas? Since John's parents are both dead and mine are in California & I fly out at other times of the year (having got stuck in Chicago one year Christmastime for 2 days...), this is what we do.
We rent 20 DVDs and spend the day in bed, getting up occasionally to play Canasta.

We see so many people this time of year, we enjoy
the solitude & turn down all invitations to party.
I find big parties quite the bore.

Erin Kuhns said...

I think we have a chicken-egg thing happening here. I woke up through the night Sunday night with a terrible headache and couldn't go to work Monday morning because of it. I swallowed a whack of Ibuprofen and Cold FX. I've also been feeling that throat-tickle thing happening, so I've kept up with the Cold FX as well.

So after seeing you on Sunday, who knows who gave it to whom? As far as I know, both Bailey and Judy are just fine.

I blame Kenya.

:)

Hope you're feeling better. And when you need muscle to move wood, I'm your WoMan! (But I'm leaving for Texas on the 17th, so I'm a bit useless from the 17th to the 30th.)

Oma said...

Barbara: Nice way to spend the day ... if you have someone with whom to watch movies, play canasta, and share the bed! Kenya isn't even keen on sharing the bed, and her lack of the proper digits makes it difficult to play cards. She does, however, love to watch movies with me ... interacts with all dogs and most other animals on screen. She LOVED Dances with Wolves and Marley and Me.

Erin: It takes longer to catch a bug than we had ... however; Kenya has a sympathetic weeping eye.

I will try to arrange for the wood delivery this Sunday. I would really appreciate your help.

I have boxes and boxes of cedar kindling. Want to take some? It can't be put in the woods. Cedar does not decay!