Over 60% of us are down for the count…
Last night I was laying in bed with a fever and reading the book, “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed. I bought it over 2 months ago and it’s been sitting on my night table begging me to read it. I’ve always had something else to do.
Being sick stinks.
And at the same time, I know this may sound crazy but…
Being sick is kind of nice.
Getting to read an incredible book is pretty great but…
That’s not the only thing though…
When more than one of us is sick our home becomes a cocoon of safety and healing. We stop doing everything. We’re forced to whittle everything back to the absolute necessities. We sleep. We eat. We go to the bathroom. We sleep. We eat soup from a can or one of us braves a car ride and gets, whoever has the stomach for it, something to eat.
There are bodies laying immoble across couches, sprawled on floors, and passed out on beds. The TV plays movies to 1/2 open eyes. Books are face down, open to the last read word, on tables, next to now sleeping eyes.
It feels like we’ve become a bubble protected from the rest of the world…almost like those first few days when we brought a brand new baby into our home.
Nothing really happens and everything happens. You’re taking care of a baby and the hours just pass, doing what? You have no real idea. You’re diapering and feeding and sleeping and eating. And somewhere in that little world there’s caring and nurturing that happens without a lot of words and without a lot of fanfare and you become closer, more bonded to one another.
And it makes you love more.
I know that sounds cheesy and fairy-tale-ish or Pollyanne-ish but I love it. (I’m sure I’m crazy!)
And so, even though sickness is absolutely no fun; I love the amount of cuddling that goes on (the eleven year old who sleeps for hours under my protective wing arm), the quiet healing that happens, the slowing down, and only doing what is absolutely necessary.
The cocoon will break open and we’ll re-enter the world and everything will change.
For now, I’m glad to stay here before we become a butterfly again.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments:
- What are sick days like for you?
- What events make life slow down at your house?
- What are you favorite cocoon like moments?
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Davina Fear is a Familyness Adventurer. She doesn’t mind a sick day every now and then.
She blogs at davinafear.com and she likes cuddling (not with strangers, though).
11 Comments
I just finished that book last week. Loved it so so much…and I’m sick today…we’re in this together 🙂
Love this post!
Josh, so sorry to hear that you’re sick! I hope you feel better soon. As soon as I finish reading Wild I want to hear your thoughts. 🙂
And thank you so much for stopping and sharing here. I so appreciate it!
i love this great re-framing of what typically seems like a catastrophe to schedules/plans. you’re SO right – it’s a beautiful thing to slow down and heal…to get well from the inside out. sending wishes of wellness to come not a second too soon 😉 xoxo, -melanie-
Melanie, it’s so easy to get caught up in why being sick is inconvienient. I always talk about how much I miss those newborn baby days and realized today that we get those chances to have that cocoon more than I thought. Do you have other times when you have that cocoon feeling? thank you so much for the well wishes! 🙂
Getting sick is natures way of telling us to slow down. I love this positive outlook Davina. We tend to wallow in self-pity when we’re sick instead of being grateful for the chance to stop and take a moment just to relax and re-coup……
I’m sick now too, so I appreciate this post. The only problem is, I’m the only one who’s sick. So no rest for the weary here, though Jay as always is extremely helpful and makes sure I nap, etc., when he’s not at work. Hope you and the family get better soon, but until then, enjoy the togetherness. 🙂
Oh, how I wish our sick days were as beautiful and graceful as yours! Ha! With only a 2 year old in the house, if she and one parent are sick, the other parent is running around like a crazy person trying to care for the other 2. Luckily, it doesn’t happen that often, but it’s definitely not as calm or peaceful of a convalescence! Recently, I’ve been the one who is sick off and on (I couldn’t seem to stay well during the month of November), so sick days have been me, in bed, watching TV marathons while my husband tries to keep our toddler from crawling all over Mommy (somewhat successfully!).
Nothing really makes us slow down right now (again, toddler) – I’m looking forward to when she gets a little older and we can create that cocoon feeling again. I think the only time we’ve really created a cocoon of quiet with her since the newborn days was when the Dallas area had “snowmaggedon” a couple of years ago (it was really less than a foot of snow, but we Texans aren’t equipped for any amount of snowfall). Bella was only 6 months old and we stayed bundled under a big white comforter in our rocking recliner for 4 straight days. She’d just snuggle into my arms and nap and coo. It was perfection!
Deena, so true! Those days of toddler-dom are constant movement with no regard for anyone/thing that would possibly want to lie still. A toddler says, “You must be crazy, when there’s this huge world to explore to, of your own volition, just lay around!!” Haha!! 🙂 I remember being sick with little kids and setting them up with all kinds of stuff in the front room, movies, cardboard boxes, etc., blocking them in with me and just lying on the couch, on rare very sickly occasions. There have been tiimes where my husband was sick and I wasn’t and when I was sick and he wasn’t. Thankfully, most sicknesses go that way instead of wiping every singe person out. What a blessing to have a husband who will wrangle your 2 year old! There will be days where you’ll get the chance to have a more peaceful sick day….
Your snowmaggedon sounds awesome! What a fun cocoon memory! I’m so glad you told us about it. 🙂 Being bundled under a warm white blanket while the cold snowy white world lay outside sounds perfect. [and i love the name Bella!]
Awww – firstly – sorry you are sick 🙁 I hope it passes soon!!! I’m a bit of a stubborn sick person – kinda of the opinion that the world can not continue to turn without me being alert and in control, and I like to be busy 🙂
One of the worst things in my opinion is being sick when the weather is hot… It is so much nicer to snuggle and read and watch dvds when it is raining and miserable outside!!!
take care x
Thank you, Renee! I used to be much more stubborn about being sick until I realized that I stayed sick much longer when I was stubborn about it than when I took care and let myself have the luxury of healing….that…and I’ve gotten way relaxed in my old age! haha! 🙂
I agree about being sick in the summer. There should be some kind of law against that!! No colds, viruses, or feeling lousy allowed when the sky is blue! 🙂
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