How many of you can believe that tomorrow is the beginning of February? I am struggling with it. It feels like I have lost the last month and those of you who follow me on Facebook or Twitter will know that I have been sick for most of January. I had my first ear infection and I am pretty sure that I had a bad bout of bronchitis. Fortunately, classes do not start until Monday, so being sick for most of January had a silver lining after all. To say that I was grateful for that small favor is understating it. For those of you who took care of your families and worked through being sick, you all are amazing! I was happy to just have my cat, Sunny, with me. I don’t think I could have handled more, but I had plenty of time to think.
Allow me to share three lessons I learned from my little bout.
When you live alone, you must tell other people how sick you really are. Thank goodness for one of my dearest friends who asked me if I had eaten anything. For the record, mango juice does not count! I was sick when I came back from my vacation and I did not get to go grocery shopping. By the time she was asking if I had eaten anything, I was so sick that it did not even occur to me to order food. The food she had delivered got me through the next few days.
Embrace being sick. I know that sounds silly or counter intuitive, but I was sick for weeks. Therefore, I will need at least that same amount of time to recover. I mentioned to one of my professors that I regretted being in forties for the first time. When I was in twenties, I would have bounced back after a few days. Not this time!
I am a pet person; I had my kitty, Sunny, right by my side. This might be the most important lesson of all. I remember waking up from naps to find my cat snuggled against my back or my shoulder. As someone who lives alone, I was grateful to have him with me. Our pets are so important to our well being.
Stay tuned for more posts. Happy February!
SUSAMMA SPEAKS LLC 