I sat the long New Year's weekend out with the flu. I did a lot of laying around, thinking of all of my to-do lists and how none of them would ever get done again and that would be OK.
After three solid days my will to go on returned and in a burst of energy I took down all of the Christmas decorations and the tree. I grew up in a house where the Christmas tree once lingered all the way to Saint Patricks Day (with coordinating ornaments of course), so I never understood the people who took their trees down the day after New Year's until last year (my first with a child). Now I get it: let's get on with our lives already. It's a little sad but it's also so nice to feel ready to take on what's next.
The whole family experienced a rolling wave of the flu - first my dad on Christmas day, followed by my mother, my sister-in-law, my mother-in-law (on the other side of the family), myself, Baby SevPrez, and finally, the Mister. My parents were healthy enough to take the baby on the New Years Day overnight to give us a break. As much as it was such a relief to be able to lie around and sleep uninterrupted by the needs of a sick child, it was equally as amazing to just be in the house with my husband alone. As parents who both work full time, we are always trying to spend as much time with our kid as possible, which I realized while laying on the couch with a flu, is probably to the detriment of our relationship. You tend not to realize that it is difficult to completely and utterly relax and enjoy each other without being encumbered by the responsibilities of a youngin. We need to make time, even if it's just once a month, to be alone (not after 8pm in our house on the couch while she sleeps upstairs).
I guess what I mean to say is that being sick is such a total drag on every level. But when you step back and look at it from a birds eye view, it's actually a chance to wake up and realign to what will really sustain you in having a healthier life. Like having smoothies for breakfast, or more time alone with your husband.
