Sick Days

I haven't blogged in a while because I haven't been feeling well. Nothing serious--just tired, achy, and coughy for the last two weeks.

I haven’t been sick in a while. In four years of college, I never missed a day of class because of illness (yes, I skipped one or two because of a hockey game, but what else would you expect?) Being sick on my mission was no fun—all we could do was drink a coke and sleep. But given the 6:00 am to 10 pm mission schedule, sleeping was much needed!

But when I was a kid, being sick was fun. I enjoyed being a little sick (not miserably sick mind you, just a little) because of the rituals I had when I got to stay home. First of all, nothing helps you feel less miserable like a little distraction; and nothing is more distracting than the television. So my mom would make up a bed on the living room sofa with blankets and pillows. Then she would surround me with the necessities: the remote control, a box of tissues, water, and a bell to ring if I needed her (no one can yell “Mom!” with a sore throat!)

Then I would always watch the same movies—my sick movies. First on the list: The Princess Bride. I think I liked it so much because the little boy at the beginning is sick and his Grandpa comes to read to him.
Look at the cute little Fred Savage!

Other common I’m-home-for-a-sick-day movies included Willow, The Little Mermaid, and Cinderella (the version called The Slipper and the Rose, with Richard Chamberlin who swings from the pipes. It’s one of the greatest movies that I don’t own. Sure I could buy it new on DVD for $124 on Amazon.com, but somehow I can’t justify spending that much on a movie, go figure.)
Scene from The Slipper and the Rose

Other things I loved about sick days: Ginger ale. We were never big soda drinkers growing up (believe me, Chuck and I would have been if we could, but mom just never bought it that often). Nothing calms an upset stomach like ginger ale. It’s better if you mix it with juice too—orange juice or apple juice. And when you’re confined to a diet of liquids—Tomato soup is like divine. Ever since my mission in Russia, what I really love when I'm sick is a cup of hot lemon and honey tea. If you ever feel the slightest bit ill in Russia, the cure is lemon and honey tea drunk as hot as you can stand it.

I used to really like cream of wheat when I was sick. However, once I woke up with an upset stomach, came down for breakfast and mom made me cream of wheat and I threw up in the bowl. The best part was it was one of those bowls that changed color with hot cereal- so it was pink on the bottom half where the cream of wheat was, and purple on the top where I threw up. I cried. That whole image has kind of turned me off to cream of wheat, especially when I have the flu. Now I’ll only eat it when I feel perfectly healthy... and not in color-changing bowls!

The worse illness I’ve ever had was the chicken pox. I know what you’re thinking: “Katie, all kids get the chicken pox! How can that be the worst?” Well, because it was so miserably memorable. All the kids in our neighborhood came down with the pox in turns. My best friend Jade got it first, my brother Chuck got it next, Jade’s brother Jesse came down with it a week later, and I was last. I thought it would be fun because since everyone had already had it, I could go out and play. Wrong. I can down with the worst case and was completely miserable the whole time. My mom had to give me oatmeal baths 4 times a day to keep me from itching so bad.
Somewhere in Mesa there's a picture of me covered in pox, holding my teddy bear. This is a picture of me at about the same age I was when I got the chicken pox. In the back ground there is the rocking chair I'll tell you about.

I don’t remember a lot of specifics from my childhood, but I remember chicken pox. Once I had a funny virus that made me lose strength in my legs and I couldn’t walk, and once I came close to getting scarlet fever—but I don’t remember any particulars.

Although, one of my favorite memories of my dad comes from my chicken pox episode: I couldn’t go to sleep and it was about midnight and my dad wrapped me in a blanket and took me downstairs. He put on Disney’s Fantasia and rocked me in our rocking chair, holding down my arms to keep me from scratching. I never liked Fantasia before that night, I always thought it was boring. But after that night I can say I’m a big fan of Fantasia!

I don't have any of my sick-movies here in Provo, so for my quarantined stay at home I've been watching Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoons on netflix. I may be addicted. Don't judge me, I am not too old for cartoons. Besides, being sick is the perfect excuse for watching cartoons as an adult! Also, I think the characters are diverse and really well-developed and the plot is intriguing. So as soon as I'm done coughing up a lung, I'm going to fill up my cup with lemon/honey tea and curl up to watch more.