I hate being sick at Christmas - or How I spent my X-Mas
Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 6:17 pm
I hate being sick at Christmas
Yep, I was sick the entire holiday weekend. I guess I pushed myself too hard with working too many weekends and long hours. By the time I left the office around 10:30 PM on Tuesday, I was pretty sure I was coming down with something.
When I woke up Wednesday morning, there was no doubt. Sneezing, sore throat, runny nose (think water facet), body aches, headache and a fever that would climb throughout the day. I felt exhausted and had just gotten up to start my day. Yuck.
I managed to do what I had to do in the early part of the day, expressed my holiday greeting to the guys and around 3:00 that afternoon, went back home and climbed into bed.
At first I was annoyed and a bit angry. A rare 4-day weekend off and I would be sick for it.
Indeed, I would sleep most of Christmas Eve away, and much of Christmas Day, and a good chunk of Friday, and parts of Saturday, but somehow, it would all turn into a quiet, cozy and delightful weekend. I live with my sweetheart, Kathy Simmons, who keeps a comfy, small home that I’m pretty certain is a slice of paradise. Alex came by Christmas Eve (figuring he had already been exposed to whatever bug had taken hold of me) to join us for dinner and watch some TV shows. We caught up on Arrow and The Flash, enjoyed good conversation and yummy food and desert. Kathy made a scrumptious chicken pot pie dinner and we sat chatting and watching TV for the rest of the night.
Kathy and I both slept in on Christmas morning, waking up around 9:00 AM to a herd of ravenous squirrels. Kathy has been feeding the squirrels and chipmunks and birds of every variety for years, so they all know where to come for chow. I find it fun and relaxing to toss peanuts (still in the shell) out to the gathering swarm of fur-balls, who never fail to put on a show. It was a nice way to start each morning. Kathy made me a delicious breakfast, we exchanged gifts with each other and enjoyed a quiet morning. I was still battling a fever that clung to the 101-102 mark, and did not want to drop, or at least, not for long. By noon I needed another nap. I zonked out for three hours. Man, I slept a lot over the last four days. Guess I needed it.
My tired, fever state seemed to make the whole weekend move in slow motion, giving it a somewhat warm and dreamy quality that was actually kinda nice. In between sleeping and gift-giving there were several phone conversations with loved ones: Kathy’s cousin Barbara (a sweet lady and a real character), my brother, my daughter, and some friends. The entire day was relaxing and filled with love and laughter. I had drawn and hand-colored a half-dozen Christmas cards for a few people, and wow did those go over big. Everyone loved them. Cool. Made those hours I squeezed out at night after work and in the mornings before work really worthwhile. It always amazes me to see people so excited over something that comes so easy for me. I mean, I get it. It is a gift truly from the heart and a one-of-a-kind item, but I'm still surprised such a token of affection can bring so much joy. Awesome.
Kathy’s daughter, Tina, her fiancé, his brother and the girls (a couple of big dogs with unique personalities) joined us for a relaxing Christmas dinner. Alex joined the fun too. Kathy had prepared a scrumptious Christmas feast with pierogi (Polish dumplings), Polish ham sliced off the bone, a delicious green bean dish and pumpkin pie. It was fabulicious! Yum.
While I had slept much of the morning and afternoon, I was awake and alert all evening. An evening of friends and family filled with laughter, more gifts, more television and lots of love. It was a truly lovely and relaxing Christmas with many of the people I love most in the world. My fever finally broke Christmas night, too! The only downer was feeling tired and my nose blazing through a box and a half of Kleenex in 48 hours. Oh, my gosh, my nose just ran and ran. Sheesh.
Friday, was more sleep, draining sinuses and a quiet day with my sweetheart, Kathy. I was feeling a bit better, so Kathy and I ran briefly to a store, then to my chiropractor before I came home for another nap. I was pleasantly surprised to find a package that had arrived in the mail at the office from some dear friends, still in the car. In my delirium, I had accidentally left it in the van, so we had more presents to open and good cheer to enjoy the day after Christmas. It was nice.
Saturday, my sinuses had finally stopped draining and I was feeling better, but now Kathy had some kind of bug! Somehow, it’s worse when someone you love is sick, than yourself. It wasn’t the same bug that I had (I hope nobody else gets that one because of me!), but it knocked Kathy off her feet hard. Now it was her turn to cough and sleep the day way. While Kathy slept, I binge watched ALL the Doctor Who Christmas specials (the most recent two being new to me). You know you’re a nerd when a Doctor Who episode makes you cry. Gosh, I love that show. The writing is soooo good.
Sunday has been another lazy day. It is the first day that I have felt well enough to stop by the office and write this Murmur. I tried drawing a bit, but don't have the focus for it. Kathy is feeling a bit better this afternoon, which is nice to see, though when I left the house she was going to lay down. Alex just popped into the office, so I’m going to snag him and have him join us for dinner (pizza) and to hang with us. Hoping the Lion’s beat the Green Bay Packers (sorry, Green Bay fans), and I’m missing the first half of the game, so I need to wrap this up.
So despite being sick and sleeping a great deal, I enjoyed a wonderful Christmas. I hope your Christmas was even nicer than mine – and mine turned out to be wonderful.
I guess it’s back to work tomorrow. And no long weekend to ring in the New Year. We’ll be crackin’ the whip. Take care and keep those warm and fuzzy Christmas feelings with you for as long as you can. Happy Holidays.
Sincerely,
Kevin Siembieda
Publisher, Writer and One Fortunate Guy
© Copyright December 28, 2014 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Phase World®, Nightbane®, Megaverse®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars® and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. RPG Tactics™, Beyond the Supernatural, Chaos Earth, Coalition States, Dead Reign, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, Minion War, Mysteries of Magic, SAMAS, Thundercloud Galaxy, Three Galaxies, Vampire Kingdoms, and other published book titles, names, slogans and likenesses are trademarks of Palladium Books Inc., and Kevin Siembieda.
Robotech® and Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® are Registered Trademarks of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.
Yep, I was sick the entire holiday weekend. I guess I pushed myself too hard with working too many weekends and long hours. By the time I left the office around 10:30 PM on Tuesday, I was pretty sure I was coming down with something.
When I woke up Wednesday morning, there was no doubt. Sneezing, sore throat, runny nose (think water facet), body aches, headache and a fever that would climb throughout the day. I felt exhausted and had just gotten up to start my day. Yuck.
I managed to do what I had to do in the early part of the day, expressed my holiday greeting to the guys and around 3:00 that afternoon, went back home and climbed into bed.
At first I was annoyed and a bit angry. A rare 4-day weekend off and I would be sick for it.
Indeed, I would sleep most of Christmas Eve away, and much of Christmas Day, and a good chunk of Friday, and parts of Saturday, but somehow, it would all turn into a quiet, cozy and delightful weekend. I live with my sweetheart, Kathy Simmons, who keeps a comfy, small home that I’m pretty certain is a slice of paradise. Alex came by Christmas Eve (figuring he had already been exposed to whatever bug had taken hold of me) to join us for dinner and watch some TV shows. We caught up on Arrow and The Flash, enjoyed good conversation and yummy food and desert. Kathy made a scrumptious chicken pot pie dinner and we sat chatting and watching TV for the rest of the night.
Kathy and I both slept in on Christmas morning, waking up around 9:00 AM to a herd of ravenous squirrels. Kathy has been feeding the squirrels and chipmunks and birds of every variety for years, so they all know where to come for chow. I find it fun and relaxing to toss peanuts (still in the shell) out to the gathering swarm of fur-balls, who never fail to put on a show. It was a nice way to start each morning. Kathy made me a delicious breakfast, we exchanged gifts with each other and enjoyed a quiet morning. I was still battling a fever that clung to the 101-102 mark, and did not want to drop, or at least, not for long. By noon I needed another nap. I zonked out for three hours. Man, I slept a lot over the last four days. Guess I needed it.
My tired, fever state seemed to make the whole weekend move in slow motion, giving it a somewhat warm and dreamy quality that was actually kinda nice. In between sleeping and gift-giving there were several phone conversations with loved ones: Kathy’s cousin Barbara (a sweet lady and a real character), my brother, my daughter, and some friends. The entire day was relaxing and filled with love and laughter. I had drawn and hand-colored a half-dozen Christmas cards for a few people, and wow did those go over big. Everyone loved them. Cool. Made those hours I squeezed out at night after work and in the mornings before work really worthwhile. It always amazes me to see people so excited over something that comes so easy for me. I mean, I get it. It is a gift truly from the heart and a one-of-a-kind item, but I'm still surprised such a token of affection can bring so much joy. Awesome.
Kathy’s daughter, Tina, her fiancé, his brother and the girls (a couple of big dogs with unique personalities) joined us for a relaxing Christmas dinner. Alex joined the fun too. Kathy had prepared a scrumptious Christmas feast with pierogi (Polish dumplings), Polish ham sliced off the bone, a delicious green bean dish and pumpkin pie. It was fabulicious! Yum.
While I had slept much of the morning and afternoon, I was awake and alert all evening. An evening of friends and family filled with laughter, more gifts, more television and lots of love. It was a truly lovely and relaxing Christmas with many of the people I love most in the world. My fever finally broke Christmas night, too! The only downer was feeling tired and my nose blazing through a box and a half of Kleenex in 48 hours. Oh, my gosh, my nose just ran and ran. Sheesh.
Friday, was more sleep, draining sinuses and a quiet day with my sweetheart, Kathy. I was feeling a bit better, so Kathy and I ran briefly to a store, then to my chiropractor before I came home for another nap. I was pleasantly surprised to find a package that had arrived in the mail at the office from some dear friends, still in the car. In my delirium, I had accidentally left it in the van, so we had more presents to open and good cheer to enjoy the day after Christmas. It was nice.
Saturday, my sinuses had finally stopped draining and I was feeling better, but now Kathy had some kind of bug! Somehow, it’s worse when someone you love is sick, than yourself. It wasn’t the same bug that I had (I hope nobody else gets that one because of me!), but it knocked Kathy off her feet hard. Now it was her turn to cough and sleep the day way. While Kathy slept, I binge watched ALL the Doctor Who Christmas specials (the most recent two being new to me). You know you’re a nerd when a Doctor Who episode makes you cry. Gosh, I love that show. The writing is soooo good.
Sunday has been another lazy day. It is the first day that I have felt well enough to stop by the office and write this Murmur. I tried drawing a bit, but don't have the focus for it. Kathy is feeling a bit better this afternoon, which is nice to see, though when I left the house she was going to lay down. Alex just popped into the office, so I’m going to snag him and have him join us for dinner (pizza) and to hang with us. Hoping the Lion’s beat the Green Bay Packers (sorry, Green Bay fans), and I’m missing the first half of the game, so I need to wrap this up.
So despite being sick and sleeping a great deal, I enjoyed a wonderful Christmas. I hope your Christmas was even nicer than mine – and mine turned out to be wonderful.
I guess it’s back to work tomorrow. And no long weekend to ring in the New Year. We’ll be crackin’ the whip. Take care and keep those warm and fuzzy Christmas feelings with you for as long as you can. Happy Holidays.
Sincerely,
Kevin Siembieda
Publisher, Writer and One Fortunate Guy
© Copyright December 28, 2014 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Phase World®, Nightbane®, Megaverse®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars® and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. RPG Tactics™, Beyond the Supernatural, Chaos Earth, Coalition States, Dead Reign, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, Minion War, Mysteries of Magic, SAMAS, Thundercloud Galaxy, Three Galaxies, Vampire Kingdoms, and other published book titles, names, slogans and likenesses are trademarks of Palladium Books Inc., and Kevin Siembieda.
Robotech® and Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® are Registered Trademarks of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.