Under The Weather…Getting Over The Hump

The concept of sick seems to have changed dramatically in the last two and a half years. Before Covid you could say you felt like shit and nobody would blink an eye at you. Coughing, sore throat, sniffles, maybe even a slight wheeze in your chest and it was “Oh, well I’ll stop at CVS before I go home and grab some Tussin or Mucinex.” Now? In our post-Covid world if you squeeze a single hack or throat clearing out around others you’re looked at as if you just spewed blood and viscera all over the floor. I’m not sure that the cold as we know it exists anymore.

I am currently in the throes of a head cold. It began Sunday with a rough patch on the back right side of my throat. By the time I went to bed it’d turned into full-on raw sore throat and my sinuses were impacted. I knew this wasn’t just allergies, despite over the last few years seeing seasonal allergies turn into year-long allergies. No, the sneezes and wheezes and body aches and full head and scratchy throat all meant one thing: I’m sick.

Monday was long, and by the time I got home from work I was ready to crash. I changed into some pajama pants, dropped into my recliner and proceeded to binge a few episodes of The Wire. Comfort viewing for the medicine head. When I got up Tuesday morning I felt the heaviness in my chest and had sweat through my shirt in my sleep. Only good thing is that I did in fact sleep well. Made some coffee and broke out the Covid test since that’s what we do now every time we sneeze. Fortunately no Covid, just a lousy cold that I’m going to have to deal with for the next few days.

Despite being under the weather I’m still feeling pretty good overall. First, prior to feeling like crap on Sunday the wife and I hit the road to the big city in search of a new mattress. We’ve both been waking up sore for quite awhile now. We’ve spun the mattress several times in the last several months but it doesn’t seem to do much. I know the fact that our dog sleeps in bed with us(he’s a miniature schnauzer) probably doesn’t help matters, but I think more so it’s because our mattress is junk. Also, with me having back surgery nearly seven years ago I’m far more sensitive to back pain. Saturday night I felt like I had arthritis in my damn hips. It was time.

My wife had looked at this place back in November when she and our oldest drove to the city for a little shopping. She thought the place was great, and that she’d found a super comfortable mattress for us. So that’s where we headed on Sunday. Walking in it looked like the typical warehouse outlet furniture joint, wall to wall with living room, dining room, and bedroom set ups. Everything was pretty typical except they were blaring 80s hair metal over the loudspeakers. Now don’t get me wrong, I grew up on Headbanger’s Ball and the whole Sunset Strip scene. But I’m 49-years old now and I don’t want to hear “Mr. Brownstone” or “Home Sweet Home” while I’m trying out hybrid mattresses. Sorry.

Anyways, we try the mattress my wife liked and I was just sort of so-so on it. It was too soft for me. I need something firmer. We settled on a hybrid with a cooling layer where one side is plush while the other is firm. It’s also an adjustable bed so we can raise our heads or feet or a combination of the two. Plus, if we don’t like it we can return it for a different one the first 30 days.

I know, I know, exciting stuff. When you’re almost 50 something like a new mattress is a big deal. And after the last few weeks of getting out of bed feeling beat up I welcome the excitement of new sleeping arrangements.

Besides the mattress, we’ve got a four day weekend coming up next week. Four days away from work are four damn good days. Work has been extra lately, and I’m needing a timeout from the time clock. The added stress and expectations from a company that is literally shutting me out of my job in a year and a half has been a hard pill to swallow. I’m not leaving because I want that pot o’ severance gold at the end of the employment rainbow, but damn if some days are harder than others. Hell, some weeks are harder than others.

I’m looking forward to a back that doesn’t hurt so much when the alarm goes off in the morning, and I’m looking forward to being able to breathe again. Things I sadly took for granted in the glory days of being mucous-free and lower back pain-free. I feel I’ve come to appreciate the small things these last few years, but even I can forget once in a while. All it takes is some serious sinus pain and blowing my nose to rawness to remind me of that.