This picture has nothing to do with the post.
When Dads get sick, well, we don’t. We do, all the symptoms of being sick are present but the reality is that we generally don’t allow ourselves the luxury of being ill and taking time off from life. We don’t allow ourselves to appear weak in the face of our wives and children. We try to do everything we’d do if we weren’t sick, from fixing things to actually showing up to work with a high fever and teetering the line between passing out and throwing up breakfast. This is the manly thing to do I suppose, and some men relent and let their wives take care of them while they are sick. I call them big babies and you can ask their wives, that’s what they call them too.
That being said, I woke up this morning sick as a fucking dog. Well, that’s a bad analogy, not all dogs are sick all the time. The point is, my body was telling me to stay in bed and not move. However, there were meetings to attend today, work to be done. I needed to earn my big ‘ol paycheck. (That’s sarcasm, it’s mediocre at best.) So I did what most men would do, I pushed through it, got dressed and went to work. My commute is an hour drive, so by the time I got to work I wanted to pass out in my car. I went upstairs, spilled a bottle of Dayquil in my computer bag and then left work by 10am. I went home and took a four hour nap. My wife works during the day, and all the kids were in school so it was a good nap with plenty of headaches and dreams of flash dancing strippers.
When the wife finally did get home with the kids, I got up and helped out. Minimal, fed the daughter and sat with her for a while, lounged around, did some needle point. Ok, that last one is a lie. The point is, I didn’t curl up in a ball in my room and demand that everyone leave me alone. Sure, if I was highly contagious I probably would have, but this is all just allergies. Damn pollen count. Fuck you Spring.
Simply put, Dads don’t get sick. We don’t really have the time for it. Sure, sickness will come and go but what’s a father to do? Succumb to it? I don’t think so. When I’m sick I stick with the routine, it’s the best way to get out of being sick. I go to the gym sick. I go to baseball practice sick and I go to work sick. Sure my boss sends me home sick as well, but it’s not for lack of trying. I also grill sick, I prefer grilling sausage when I’m sick because of the off chance that the nice squishy meat will have something magical and special mixed in with the pork parts that will make me all better.
Being sick is not like having a hang nail, you can’t just pick at it until it tears away and you stuff it between the cushions in the couch. You have to deal with it and let your immune system take care of itself. You have to take care of yourself while still taking care of your family, and not being a gigantic pussy in the process. This can be difficult sometimes, but it can be done. It’s like changing a crappy diaper full of poop and sprinkles. How did that happen? No one knows. But you take care of it and move on. Being sick is like that. You take care of it and move on. It’s only time.
In my allergy induced haze, I’m wondering if any of that makes sense. Either way, I’m still sick so I’m going to go curl up into a ball in front of the Xbox. Wife – get me some tea!
Brilliant. Love the sprinkles.