Would You Like a Whiskey With That?
We sat on the couch last night, Scott curled under a blanket coughing while I, unable to get comfortable, changed positions every few minutes because my whole body ached. “We’re a sad lot right now, you know?” I asked Scott, laughing. “Yep,” came his reply, followed by a cough. It was pretty pathetic.
The whole thing started out innocently enough. When Scott woke up last week with a “drainage throat” and a stuffy head, we attributed it to the cold front that had blown in at thirty miles an hour the day before bringing God-knows-what with it. He loaded himself up on allergy medicine and, after a good-bye kiss, zoomed off to work in his spiffy little car. Unfortunately, things didn’t improve for him. In fact, he ended up at the doctor the next day in hopes of finding a medicine that would make him feel even the slightest bit better. Mucinex was just no longer making the cut. After diagnosing Scotty with a virus, our doctor sent him home with the following prescription: rest, lots of fluids, more Mucinex. BAH! He was just going to have to wait this one out.
On Saturday morning, I woke up feeling pretty crummy myself. Remember that good-bye kiss? Yeah… probably not my best idea. Turns out I had caught Scotty’s virus. Thankfully I got only the body aches and general icky-feeling; my head has stayed miraculously clear for the most part, and I haven’t developed a cough…yet. Let’s hope it stays that way. We spent the weekend doing a whole lot of absolutely nothing. I read three books; Scotty tested a beta version of a new computer game and did some reading himself. We scavenged around the house to see what we could make for meals since neither of us felt like a) going out to eat, or b) going to the grocery store. I’m sure the other people in our town were thankful we stayed home as well, even if they didn’t know it at the time. Things took a turn for the worse on Sunday night when Scotty developed a nasty cough despite the fact that most of the rest of his symptoms had faded away. (Side note: You know you’ve reached a turning point in your marriage when your husband calls from the bathroom, “Hey… come look at what I just coughed up in the sink,” and you hop out of bed to investigate.) Neither of us slept that night, Scott because he couldn’t stop coughing and me because, well, because it’s really hard to sleep when someone is coughing/choking/hacking/wheezing right next to you. Poor Scotty…
Scott tried to go to work on Monday but found it to be rather useless and came home early. We called the doctor but it took a long time for him to get back to us. (Mondays are the WORST when it comes to calling a doctor or trying to get in to see one. It’s like illnesses just wait to hit you until the weekend because they know you have to suffer for two whole days before you can get any help. Evil bugs!) It was clear that Scott was miserable, so I did what any enterprising young wife would do. I poured him a glass of whiskey and told him to drink up. Within twenty minutes, Scott felt better and his coughing had significantly decreased. Hallelujah! Around 5:30, our doctor called us back. Since he’d already seen Scott for this, he was kind enough to just fax a prescription cough medicine over to our pharmacy so we would be able to sleep that night. Hallelujah again! Sadly, I think the whiskey worked better. Either way, we were both able to sleep last night, and we both woke up feeling much, much better. It’s amazing what a little sleep will do for the body. :)
I’m so thankful that we got sick when we did. I’d hate to miss the Thanksgiving festivities with family this year. It is my all-time favorite holiday and always has been. I cannot WAIT for turkey and ham and mashed potatoes and green bean bundles and olives and gravy and stuffing and PIE! WOOHOO!!! I’m also thankful for the little visitor who comes to see me sometimes while I’m working in the office. Isn’t he precious?
