I had the dreaded flu shot prior to embarking and sanitized my hands five times a day on the ship and yet on the fourth day, there it was. The Sore Throat. Noooo….even wine and pina coladas didn’t knock it out of me. Believe me, I tried but no luck.
As the sore throat subsided, the congestion, cough and sneezes ensued. As soon as we got home, I went to my go-to: DayQuil followed by NyQui. Gotta love that NyQuil. Sleep is imperative and NyQuil is quite the aid.
Then, there’s my mother’s cure for everything: Sun. “Go sit in the sun,” she’d say, “it cures whatever ails you.” Yes, I definitely believe in that but weeks later and sporting a good ole Florida tan, the cough lingers. It didn’t help that we flew to Maryland for Thanksgiving….now both of us are cold bearers chugging NyQuil. Apologies to both of our families.
The plane ride there was uneventful though I had to pay $3 for a very tiny bottled water on Spirit Airlines. Lesson learned. BYO water and snacks. The plane trip back was slightly more turbulent but we landed safely and I thanked God profusely.
Only problem was I couldn’t hear out of my left ear. Even after round-the-clock swallowing, my hearing is still impaired. Hopefully, it’s just a side effect from congestion and I’ll stop asking “What?” after anyone speaks to me.
Truly, I haven’t been sick in about 20 years. That time I caught the flu flying back from St. Maarten’s. That was the worst…couldn’t get out of bed for a week. Of course, it’s all relative. It wasn’t terminal and I returned to my normal energy with about a 10 pound weight loss.
Being a teacher can be hazardous to your health. We are exposed to germs constantly and I always prided myself on having a pretty great immune system, except on winter break. I cannot tell you how many years I was sick during the holidays.
I’m sure it was from trying to get everything ready for Christmas for my family, burning the candle at both ends, wrapping gifts until the wee hours of the morning, hoping the children wouldn’t catch us playing Santa, sipping Bailey’s and listening to the Pope’s midnight mass. There were many late nights leading up to it….going out to late night sales at Toys R Us and the bigger department stores. Going out in freezing cold temps cutting down our tree and desperately trying to keep it standing as the dogs and cats played with the ornaments.
Ahhh….the good ole days pre-Amazon. Who goes out to shop anymore? I am ashamed to admit I rarely do.
I loved those days with all the excitement of the children and the fun we had, but, now our children are doing that with their children. As for us? We order a wreath from LLBean, go out for Christmas Eve dinner and choose a movie to see on Christmas day. Last year, we chose a Will Ferrell movie which, after the fact, was panned as the worst movie of the year. Not the best decision. Not one review was written prior to its release. Note to self: do not select a movie that has not been reviewed!
So, as you can read, I’ve got no good travel tips. All I can say is I’m happy to be home for a few months. You’ll find me out on the lanai soaking up the sun, baking the tail end of this congestion out of me, hoping to restore my hearing!
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