One month into the winter season and I went down with a nasty flu and throat infection.  I said hello to July miserable in bed surrounded by tissues, water bottles (that was tirelessly filled by the Husband), antibiotics and Chicken Arroz Caldo.  


My body’s used to having bouts of head colds and cough on icy mornings. But just when I thought and felt that my body’s more resilient with winter, a persistent bug caught me and knocked me down. What I thought was going to be just a 2-day sick leave from work, turned out to be seven days.  The plan was to go back to work middle of last week but I decided (yes, I decided) to take the whole week off to avoid a relapse and make it my Health Holiday.

There’s always that connotation that sick leaves are not good (oh well, we know it’s not good because it’s about being sick) so instead of thinking that I’m on leave because I’m down with something, I renamed my break from work to a Health Holiday.  (Yes, I do make up names for my holidays sometimes.)


Health Holiday—doesn’t that sound more positive?  


Whenever I get sick, I sometimes have feelings of vulnerability.  I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I actually think that it’s normal for one to be emotional when physically unwell.  Staying home and not being able to do things we’re used to doing makes one feel vulnerable.  At the start of my being sick two weeks ago, I started having “wawa” thoughts (kawawa thoughts/self-pity thought) but experience has taught me that negative thoughts and feelings do nothing.  I knew I was physically beaten so I instead of wallowing and be cranky (because I hated being sick), I made a mental turnaround and let go.  


I let go and accepted healing positively.


I let go and accepted that it’s okay to be sick once in a while.  


I let go and laughed it off.


I let go and let my Husband take care of me.


I tried to be patient with getting well.  Being the conscientious person that I am, I sometimes give deadlines on when I should be well (probably because of the thought that I need to go back to work).  But instead of being too conscious of time, I focused on getting well and let my body recover on its own sweet time. I disregarded the thought that work may be piling up or that the office needs me.  I shrugged at boredom and instead became thankful that I have all the time in the world to get well.


I listened to what my body needed.  I slept for hours.  It amazed me that even if I didn’t have much appetite, my body craved to eat good food.  I stayed away from the computer. I went out our balcony and let the sun comfort me with it’s warmth and Vitamin D.

I’m a believer that every situation has its blessing(s).  In my case of being sick, it inspired me to be more healthy. Also, I’ve learned to let go and focus on being positive even when I’m down with something. 

I’m grateful to be back to attending to my usual routines this week.  Although I still have a bit of cough, I feel so much better and nearly a hundred percent recovered.