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Illness, Morbid Thoughts and Lack Of Sun
Deepti Lamba
Last week I fell sick and then was deprived of cable and Internet as well. The landline was dead and the cable bill had to be paid and to top it all my help went off on his usual one month leave. It seemed as if the gods were conspiring against me. Between the nasty coughs, short breaths and general low feeling, I woke up at the crack of dawn, cooked and packed tiffin for the kids and did my nasty mundane chores.
Each day seemed like the day before - lousy to the core and the nights were the worst when I had to put two pillows under my head and still felt like a fish out of water - gasping, choking and unable to sleep.
It felt as if I was the only one manning the castle. The truth couldn't be further than that. I suffered the downside of living in a nuclear family - there is no support structure to fall back on. Initally the kids fell sick, then Aaman and finally me. We were one sick family and between the chest racking coughs, watery eyes and desperate painful breaths I remembered the movie Secret Lives Of Dentists where illness brought the couple back together.
Yes, nothing like feeling like death warmed over to re-ignite the dying embers of passionate love. But for me, love was the last thing on my mind. I could hear loud coughing noises from the kids' room and from my hubby lying next to me on the bed.
We coughed and we suffered and even as the kids bounced back and so did Aaman, I remained my whiny exhausted self. Life seemed miserable and days became gloomy as well.
There was no sun for a week and it rained tirelessly. I didn't enjoy the sound of water feeding my garden, nor the cool winds but wanted the Bangalore sun to heat my muscus-ridden chest and stuffy nose.
I was one miserable chick then and even now with the occasional cough I continue to feel a bit morose. Illness does that. It takes time to get back to one's usual self after a battle with germs and viruses and more so if one happens to be an exhausted parent of a nuclear family.
Deepti Lamba is an author, besides editing at Desicritics
Illness, Morbid Thoughts and Lack Of Sun
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- » Published on November 18, 2009
- » Type: Opinion
- » Filed under: .
- » This is part of a regular feature, Parenting Paradox 101.
Author: Deepti Lamba
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smallsquirrel
November 18, 2009
07:46 PM
Oh dear, Dee... sorry that your whole family was ill. If I were still in Bangalore I would send over my maid AND a pot of homemade chicken and rice soup. I hope you're feeling better!
tanay
URL
November 18, 2009
10:54 PM
relax, take it easy. hope things are fine now and you are back to normal.
take care and cheer up, yups i do agree the weather has been dull and depressing over the last 10 to 15 days.
Deepti Lamba
November 18, 2009
11:31 PM
SS: Chicken soup! sounds good, ship it:D
Tanay: not only dull and depressing but mounting laundry :P
Ruvy
URL
November 19, 2009
06:53 AM
Deepti,
I feel for you. My two boys are sick. My wife is not feeling well. I'm feeling like death warmed over. I cough like a man who has just smoked three packs of unfiltered Camels (I don't smoke at all).
I have a book to edit. Tomorrow night I'll have to go to a big Sabbath dinner held in memory of a retarded girl who died in 2005, and then another Sabbath dinner (for the same reason) on Saturday noon. The reason I have to go is that we're not preparing Sabbath meals for this week. If I don't go, I don't eat. In addition to that there are people whom I haven't seen in quite a while - so I can't just stuff my face, say the Grace Over Meals and go home to sleep. I have to put on my smiley face and entertain....
Before all of this is the Sabbath shopping - oy vey!!
My wife, who is not feeling well at all, has 12 Hallót (showbreads) to bake for the Sabbath and a cake to bake (her contributions to the meal).
When I consider the alternative to all this (the grave) it actually looks like fun.
What I wouldn't do for a big schissel of chicken soup right now!
Deepti Lamba
November 19, 2009
09:25 AM
Ruvy, whoa! thats terrible. 12 breads? tell your wife my heart goes out to her. I love chicken soup and miss the slow cooker I had in the US where I could throw stuff in and in a couple of hours had yummy stew or soup.
Hope your family recovers soon and have lots of hot tea.
Ruvy
URL
November 19, 2009
04:04 PM
Thank you for your kind wishes, Deepti.
Similarly, I hope the cough you have (they're damned exhausting) leaves you, and you feel healthy and hale again. Tending a house and making it a home is difficult work in the best of circumstances and can be very tiring in less than the best of circumstances.
My wife has six of the breads done. She may drop the other six, and concentrate on baking a cake instead. She is exhausted, and is looking for the opportunity to go to sleep.
Tea - chamomile tea. That sure sounds nice!
temporal
URL
November 19, 2009
05:58 PM
dee:
guess now that every one is up (and running) any get-well thoughts are redundant?
yes, with school going children at home and cold... the domino effect prevails
ah servants!
bah servants!
no such luxury here
are they inoculating against the h1n1 there?
Deepti Lamba
November 19, 2009
08:21 PM
No they aren't. Incase of fever n cough we are supposed to show ourselves to the hospital. Thats all that we've been told.
Yeah I wish i had full time help. Good ones are a rarity nowadays.
Amitabh Mitra
URL
November 20, 2009
02:41 PM
Chyavanprash is of great help.
Guys with Drug Resistant TB (MDR) coughing all around us, I found some comfort in Neem and Chyavanprash.
Get well soon
Deepti Lamba
November 21, 2009
01:21 AM
Amit, I tried giving Chyavanprash to my kids but they literally scratched their tongues out with their little fingers. I am a big believer in Ginger tea. apart from a few moments of weird coughs we all are well now.
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