Greetings and Salutations, Blog Friends!

Recently, when I was sick, I knew I should work out to help myself feel better but I physically didn’t feel well enough to do so, so I did some light stretching, and then went to the fridge to grab a snack .

Then I saw the mess, and all the old food in perfectly good Tupperware containers, the same containers that could prolong the life of my rapidly wilting spinach.

I need to dump the old food, clean the containers and take the trash out. Bret isn’t even home at the moment, so even taking the trash out will require me alone doing it.

Fuck it, I say, angry that the money we spent on eating healthy was going to go down the drain, and I started removing containers. And boom. I felt a bit better. I did them in waves, washing a few containers at a time, grateful the food hadn’t rotted really, just “gone off”.

So what did I learn with this?

One, that when doing anything when you have been very sick, do it in phases, and sit when dizzy.

Two, emptying out my fridge more often, a habit I am trying to develop, is a smart habit to have, because it makes cleaning the containers much easier, and prevents the temptation to just throw the whole container, food and all, away.

Three, sometimes doing something productive is a really good thing that actually helps you feel better.

Four, little actions add up to big results.

So lets break this all down.

First, if you follow the blog, you know I was sick, but if not, you can read all about the very sudden and very violent vomiting that took over much of my last week. If not…Hey last week I got hella sick.

So, I was down for a couple days, I took one full day off of work, and then went in the next day, and left early. Bret stayed at work, which also probably motivated me to get some stuff done, because I like to either sing loudly to music he hates, or, narrate, and have multiple part conversations as several characters all at once, and frankly, the looks I get from the dog and cats are weird enough.

Anyways, while Bret stayed on at work, I decided to come home, and I really thought I was going to rest up and take care of me.

Instead I ordered a few soups and some other needed groceries from Amazon Prime Now, and tried to work on some writing, which is what led to this whole experience.

So first, I see that all our spinach is going to go bad, but that the food that had been in tupperware for nearly two weeks, was just barely turning bad. Realizing that everyone has spinach issues, and a dry paper towel inside some tupperware could keep the spinach fresher, longer, and make our money go further, not to mention time, not spent going to get more spinach.

I look to the tupperware area of my kitchen and see that sadly, I had leftover pasta salad in one container, some fruit I had cut up in another, small little bits of leftovers, all of which were past the point of being healthy and edible without more stomach issues.

“I have to wash them.” I realize sadly, but, also realize with some joy, that the fruit and pasta salad isn’t SO old that it smells bad.

Carefully, I empty a couple containers and lean on the counter, still a bit dizzy, and wash out some containers. While they dry, I smoke a bowl, and eye the fridge. A few nearly empty drink containers and some packaged food that had gone bad, into the trash.

I smoke another bowl, put the dried dishes away, and wash the next set, after dumping the food in them. This time, to my great pleasure, I do not have to lean on the counter to avoid falling over, and, i figure out an awesome plot point from my talks with myself.

The fridge, now actually able to hold new groceries, and tupperware able to keep food fresher, longer.

I felt a bit better. After I had finished the dishes, i scrubbed the sink, which I always do, and swept up. The kitchen felt better, and I did a bit too, so I swept the living room, cleaned the litter box, swept up the bathroom, and sat for twenty minutes while the dizziness came back.

Finally, I was able to carry all the junk down to the recycling and dumpster, and just like that, my apartment felt notably less “sick” and…I also felt a bit less sick.

Building on my momentum while being careful to not push myself, I puttered a bit more, and had some soup, high on the enjoyment of a clean fridge.

It was around here that I realized I felt about as better as I imagined I would have if I had the energy to do a full work out.

Without exhausting myself to the point of being out of work another day.

So, I take this to mean, even when you are sick, you should always do something, ANYTHING, to make yourself feel better, and get yourself on the mend, if you are able. But you don’t need to push yourself, either. You can do one thing, one small thing, and make your body feel like you accomplished something, and rest that much better.

Sometimes self care is doing something, which is a great Self Care Sunday to remember.

Either way, be kind to yourself, and rest well.

Thanks for reading.

❤

Abbi