Nothing makes me appreciate feeling well more than having been sick… Whether it’s a headache, a cold, allergies or whatever, when the symptoms finally begin to abate, the awareness of not feeling as bad helps to make me feel better too…
Last month, I succumbed to some sort of wicked stomach ailment; I’m not certain if it was a case of food poisoning or some relative of the nasty gastro bug currently making rounds through our community. I’m inclined to believe it was the former for three reasons: one, I consumed part of a coconut custard pie that no one else touched; two, the onset was rapid, happening in about four hours; and three, the rest of the family went unscathed; they never felt a pang. Between the vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, severe headache and cold sweats, I was home for two days and then spent several more housebound recuperating. I don’t know if I’ll ever eat anything coconut or Alfredo again…
We are admittedly a germ-a-phobic household. We use our own pens. We have hand sanitizer in our purses and cars. We have anti-bacterial wipes in the kitchen, laundry and bathrooms. We wash our hands frequently. We use paper towels or our sleeves when opening doors in public places and we wipe the handles of shopping carts. We avoid contact with those who are ill and conversely, we rarely leave our bedrooms, much less our house when we are sick.
So nothing angers me more than being thoughtlessly exposed to someone else’s germs in a restaurant.
Yesterday morning, John and I went out for breakfast. Immediately after we were seated, one of the children at the table behind me began to cough…hard enough to gag. He continued, off and on for about twenty minutes; every time a coughing fit began, the little boy (I’m guessing around four or five years old) ended up retching. Everyone in our vicinity was squirming uncomfortably by the time the family finally left…
I wasn’t upset with the child; it wasn’t his fault he was there. I don’t know if he was contagious; I’m certainly no expert. If he was, we were all exposed due to the sheer force of his expulsion. He sounded terrible and having experienced a deep cough like his years ago, I know it had to hurt.
I’m just wondering what his parents were thinking…or maybe they weren’t.
Some things in life are unavoidable, but taking a sick child out for a Sunday morning breakfast is not one of them. It’s pretty basic: if you’re sick, stay home. If your child is sick, sorry-same answer. Please! We all need to use common sense and do our part to prevent the spread of infectious diseases…
Because no one enjoys catching a cold or coming down with something worse…
Wishing you sunshine and hope…tg
Tammy will update her blog on Mondays and Thursdays
