Things Learned From the Sickbed

Silence is noisy! The breathing of the nearby sleeping dog, the purr of the air conditioner, the hum of the fan, the clicking on of the pool pump, the distance whirring of cars. All of these disrupted my peace while sick. Surprisingly, I could never hear the TV in the other room.

My husband is an attentive caregiver. He can get drinks, medication, adjust the thermostat, suggest many things I would never want, all in the hopes of making me well. He can buy himself watermelons and plums in my absence. He can be satisfied with self made a lunch meat and homegrown tomato sandwich for dinner. He cannot although load the dishwasher, run a load of wash, or remember to take the dry cleaning. I found out that he is happy to drive into town and buy a grilled cheeses sandwich for me but not make one himself. So needless to say after 29 years of marriage he has had a lesson in grilled cheeses making and dish washer loading. He was an attentive student but I doubt he will put these new skills into practice.

My doctor is aging faster than I am. When we started going to Dougy Houser about 10 years ago he looked like he was 12. He is a man that keeps visible stress in his life to a minimum. He only works Monday -Thursday, accepts no new patients, never has more than he can handle in his waiting room, never hurries through a visit. Now from my standpoint this is a man who has carefully made decisions about how he wants to work and live. But for the first time I have noticed he has aged. He now looks the 40 that he probably is and admits he too takes lots of ibuprofen. Now I have to wonder...does he have teenage children? aging parents? I was happy to see a really snazzy jazzy sports car of some type in the lot and hope it is his passion.

It is nice to hear the phone ring even if you are too sick to talk. So if or when I'm sick again keep calling. It makes me feel good and keeps James busy.

marraige should be marriage. Did I know this? Geesh that is scary!