Back in the day (way back) when I was a child and got sick, the first thing my mother did was make sure my room was clean so I could be sick in a neat, clean place. Tidy bedroom, brown paper bag pinned to the side of my bed for kleenex disposal and The Jungle Book all prepped and ready for her to read it to me.
On the face of it that might seem like a good thing but in reality it set up a series of conflicts that have endured to this day (way beyond my childhood).
I'm not supposed to be sick in a place that:
Needs vacuuming - but I'm already sick
Needs dusting - but I'm already sick
Has laundry that needs doing - but I'm already sick!
Has dirty dishes in the sink - see above
None of these things can be done retroactively so I'm left wallowing in a miasma of indecision.
Should I try to drag myself together and at least hit the high spots when mostly I just want to sit down and fast forward to "I'm better now, that wasn't so bad"?
Should I try to convince myself that dirty is a relative term? Years ago my brother told me that my dirty was cleaner than my clean used to be - that's the sort of things a brother says to warp your mind.
In reality I do pretty much not much. Find a project (my Facebook friends know what that is this time - the great hat explosion) that doesn't require much effort and only a modicum of thinking and settle in for the 3 days that in my opinion is all it should take to get over anything.
Everyone has their own approach to handling sickness by themselves - who among my no doubt dwindling followers is fortunate enough to have the house in spick and span condition when that tickle in your throat turns into the real deal? Not a chance, right?
So keep a few ready made meals in the freezer, train the dog to think that 2 short walks a day really is enough and settle in to enjoy whatever affliction afflicts you.
As I'm so fond of saying,
You got this!
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