Friday, November 16, 2012

The Plague...

Nyquil bottle
A few days ago I woke up with a sore throat, runny nose, and flu-like aches and pains.  Ever the tough guy, I looked over at my wife and whined, I’m siiiiick. 
“You must have gotten what I had last week.”  She said, perhaps a bit too casually.
I scoffed, there’s no way she had what I have now.  I’m sick, I mean really sick.  I must have some sort of super bug that hasn’t been fully discovered yet.  I’m so sick you may get sick just from reading about my being sick.  I may need a doctor.   My wife says I’m sometimes dramatic, but did I mention I’m sick?  I’m dramatically sick!
“No this is something else, I really feel sick.”  I said, and she chuckled.
How could she laugh?  I’m suffering and she thinks it’s funny?  In sickness and in health and all of that…
It was then that I remembered last week.   My wife woke up early, went to work, came home, fixed dinner, and then maybe said something to the effect of, “I’m a little tired.”  Oh yeah, and she was creating life inside of her!    She may have said something about being sick once or twice in passing, but nothing over the top.  At our house, no one does over the top like me, I’ve cornered the market on being over the top.
But this flu bug got me thinking, are women tougher than men?  When I get sick I ask my wife for sick soup, moan and groan and may even whine until it passes.  When my wife is sick, I hope that I don’t catch it she carries on as usual and may or may not mention it.  I cannot believe she felt like this and still taught children all day, while being pregnant.
Score one for the women. While I would never want to be one and I'm quite sure that I will never fully understand them, I respect their tolerance for pain and the whole creating life part too….better them than me.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some moaning to do because--I may or may not have mentioned this--I'm sick.

18 comments:

  1. yup. I've dealt with a lot of physical things lately and gotten a few colds on top of it. When you have little ones there is no choice but to soldier-on. Unless you are the husband. Then, well...

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  2. Oh man, being sick is hard. It's really hard when all you want to do is lay in bed, but your three kids need food, and your husband is out of town, and your family lives far away. It can be a sore spot for me. Thanks for recognizing your wife's strength, and all woman-kind. :-)

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    1. It is Kate, and I do recognize, especially after this week!

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  3. It's so refreshing to hear a man admit this! You have a man cold. :) I hope you feel better soon!

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    1. yeah, I'm "man" enough to admit this one Amy!

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  4. I've heard about the man-flu. My husband got it last year. Yeah, I had to go to work with a fever and lost my voice. When he got sick, the world almost ended. He whined and groaned and says I'm mean and unsympathetic when he's sick. lol. You'll be all right, I tell him. LOL - you'll be all right. :)

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    1. It strike hard Cyndi, I think males just get a worse kind of flu, maybe?

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  5. Sometimes you soldier on even when you are the husband Aprille, especially if you are a stay at home dad. That is unless you can convince your wife to stay home from work when you're sick! muahahaha!

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    1. I like it Steve, let me know if you can pull that off!

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  6. Men are the worst. My little boy is sick right now... has been since Tuesday. He is miserable and bringing everybody with him. Yesterday, he refused to walk because he was sick and that meant his legs no longer worked. He actually uses it to his advantage. ... Like - you can't have candy... but why not... I am sick. The only other person I know that whines this much about being sick is my husband. :)
    Hope your feeling better soon!

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    1. No argument here Stacy, but your son's argument to me sounds completely logical, he's sick, he needs candy!

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  7. Pete, this was great and will say this one thing my grandmother would say about and that is, "Let one man have a baby and the human race would die out!!" Seriously, you sound just like my husband and he too acts the same way when he gets sick. Thinking of you though and hope you are feeling better :) :)

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    1. You're grandmother sounds very wise Janine! Thanks!

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  8. Suck it up, buttercup! When that little bundle of joy finally makes the grand entrance, you will no longer have the luxury of being the number one whiner in the house. :) My hubby had to learn that one the hard way.

    You are capable of making your own soup whereas the little poop-master is not. :) Yes, I used this argument with my manly-man. Now, he pulls up his big boy diaper and heads off to work unless I deem him to be too sick to 'soldier on' which is very rare. (Hey, if I have to take care of our special needs son when I'm running a fever of 101 and chucking up last weeks breakfast, HE can at least go to work with a little sore throat, right?)

    Get better asap! :)

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    1. Thanks TT, I know you're right, so I'll be sure to whine loudly one last time!

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  9. Oh my gosh..I love it when my husband gets sick..not really...but since he never does, he doesn't seem to have sympathy for me. Then he gets sick and it's like "NO I'M REALLY SICK!" as if his version is so much worse than mine. Snort.

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    1. Haha, sounds familiar Julie! It had been a while for m, but this one got me good!

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