I had envisioned a relatively cooler Easter as it fell on March 31 this year. But little did I know this Easter would be one of the hottest ones I’d ever experienced. Hyderabad is a fiery furnace already.
What was even more unpredictable was how a few days into April and I’m down with a viral infection. I asked the doctor in shock, “How did I even catch a cold and infection in this heat?” She replied it was usually the case in these transitional periods.
First, I thought it was a normal cold which will subside in a few days. When I wasn’t getting any better the second day, I consulted a doctor and got onto antibiotics to kill the infection.
But this is one of the best things that’s happened to me lately. I’ve been sleeping all day and night like a log. Even if I’ve been feeling groggy and my stomach feels eerily weird, this unintended break for my body, mind, and soul is much-needed.
It’s as if the Universe is forcing me to take that much-needed break. While this might seem like God-sent, God has a wicked sense of humour, too. The timing of my sickness couldn’t have been more brilliant. It’s right at the juncture of something that’s so important, and also right before my daughter’s birthday.
I’m grateful because this ‘out-of-the-blue’ sickness has forced me to take things slowly and stay focused on what’s most important. For me, that means lots of rest and getting ready for the important event in bits and pieces. It’s not been easy to operate in an ‘inebriated with meds’ body, but I’m coping.
On the brighter sides, this sickness has also been a forced social media detox. I can’t tell you how liberating that feeling is. To be unbothered about who’s up to what in life, and what’s happening in the virtual world, is freedom.
I’d pray for a minor sickness like this to catch me by sweet surprise sometimes in the future. It also gives a déjà vu feeling—remember how we’d pray in our childhood to get sick so we could stay at home all day and bunk school. I was even more pathetic with my desperate attempts to sneak in a smelly onion under my armpits to invoke high temperature and trick my parents and the school authorities, citing high fever.
Have you ever felt this way about bad things being actually good for you?
How can someone be sick and happy? You made an interesting article out of this thought-provoking topic. Liked the idea and write up.
Thank you, Atish! It was a spontaneous writeup. Glad you liked it.