It's Not Really February Unless You're Sniffling

February is always marketed as this wonderful, romantic kind of month. Snow is softly falling, Valentine's Day is approaching, everyone is snug and cozy in their winter hats and jackets.

This is a lie. February is the month of ice storms and depressed single people and weather that teases you with a burst of tantalizing sunshine only to drop to -20 the very next day. February is the month of lingering colds and sinus infections and influenza of many types. February is the worst month. George Herbert once said: "Every mile is two in winter." That goes double for February.

So, in honor of it being February, I'm sick. I remember bragging to my mom four-ish months ago that I hadn't gotten sick since July (not counting my occasional migraines, which obviously aren't germ-related). "I think working at a hospital has exposed me to so many germs, I'm immune!" I chirped, happily.

I guess I didn't count on what being on a plane next to a human petri dish of coughing/sneezing/used tissues could do to a person. And then, using the lovely Delta plane's bathroom only to discover THERE WAS NO WATER in the tap at the sink. There was soap, mind you, but no water. And it wasn't hand-sanitizer. It was soap. So I soaped my hands, wiped them off with a paper towel, and went back to my seat to dig through my backpack for my own hand sanitizer which, of course, was in the bag I checked plane-side. I spent next hour and a half of the flight trying desperately not to touch anywhere near my face.

Clearly, I failed, because now I am sick. Go figure.

It's fitting somehow though, I guess. It's February 1, and if you go through an entire January and February without ever once sitting next to a pile of your own used tissues and watching bad afternoon television, you must be a stronger person than I am. So, I feel lousy and achey and snotty and just generally awful. Welcome to spring semester, eh? First day of class, and here I am in my pajamas. Sigh. Granted, I am going to get dressed to teach later this afternoon. As long as I don't have the swine flu (I got my shot!), I'll drag myself over there. Plus, the walking ball of germs on the Delta flight infected me on Thursday, which means I'm sure I'm not contagious anymore. Just miserable instead.

This is not intended to be a rant about sickness. I already feel crummy enough. Instead, I plan to share with you what is GOOD about getting sick. Not deathly-ill, hospital sick of course (there's not much good about that), but the moderately-ill, I-should-take-a-day-or-two-off-unless-things-are-urgent, stuffed up, sniffly, achy, exhausted kind of sick. The kind of sick where you'll get better if you go to bed at 6pm and nap all day, but you'll drag it out for weeks if you try to fight through it. And then maybe all of you can share with me what you've found to be good about being sick. And then maybe I can find a way to dope myself up enough on cold meds and echinacea to get to class tomorrow...

Things that are Good about Getting Sick

1. Buying sick foods. This used to be chicken soup for me, but since I've been going gluten-free, it's now changed to other foods. GF chicken broth with rice. Sorbet. Fresh-cut watermelon in winter. Simply Orange orange juice. Things that ordinarily wouldn't show up in my home (pricey! unnecessary! indulgent!) suddenly show up in abundance.

2. Shopping at Whole Foods. Daryl and I kind of have a tacit agreement that we don't shop at Whole Foods unless 1) there's a blizzard and we can't drive elsewhere, 2) there's some random ingredient that we really need that only WF stocks, or 3) we're sick and Wegmans and Shop Rite suddenly feel huge and overwhelming. So even when I'm feeling really crummy, going to Whole Foods gives me a little spark of joy.

3. Watching TV/movies without shame. Sure, I can watch a show or two and not feel bad. But when I'm sick I can watch all day, while napping intermittently. Law and Order Marathon? Yes, please.

4. Using the good Kleenex. Puffs Plus is ridiculously overpriced. But wow, does it feel good on my tender little nose. I am that shiny red-nosed claymation girl from the Puffs commercials. A nose in need DOES deserve Puffs Plus, indeed!

5. Umm... that's all I can think of. When I was little, getting taken care of by my mom, dad, and grandma would definitely make this list. My grandma is incredibly adept at making a person feel better. I can still remember her leaning over me when I had the fly and cooing things like, "Ohhh... you don't feel good, do you? What can I get for you? Is there anything that you would like to eat? Poor baby..." When Daryl's around he's pretty good at this, but for now, I get to be sick on my own.

Boo, that.

Yay, February.