taking care of #1

Tis the season for sickness. It's all over the news: wash your hands, get your flu shot, and cover your mouth when you sneeze. And sometimes, even when you do all those things, you still get sick. When we're sick it's easy to focus on all the negative things that are happening: the social gatherings we couldn't attend, the beautiful weather on the other side of the window, or how disappointed we are that we're missing out on work… well, maybe not that one.

I found myself in a version of that mindset  earlier this week, so, instead of grumbling and complaining about how poorly I was feeling, I decided to embrace the opportunity to comfort and take care of myself. I put on my favorite pajamas, ate my favorite foods (aka Cheetoh Puffs), and made sure that I took my temperature regularly. Wanting something relaxing to watch, I put in Pride and Prejudice, a movie that had come highly recommended to me and that gave me a visual reference to the book I had fallen in love with the previous year.

At the end of the movie I decided that  watching Pride and Prejudice would become a sick day ritual. And so I decided to watch it again. And again. And again. In one day I watched it four times. And that's exactly what sick days are meant to be. Days were we can listen to what needs our body is telling us we have. Sometimes it's rest, which means that we need to go to bed early and sleep in as long as we can. Sometimes it's to drink more fluids or to take medicine. And, in my case, I needed to sit back, relax, and get caught up in a love story (and also blow my nose a lot). So, at whatever point in the winter season you find yourself until the weather, figure out what stirs your heart (like Mr. Darcy stirs mine) and take care of yourself!