Column

‘Tis the season to be wary... of germs

by Amanda (Fanger) Dulitz

amanda@reporterandfarmer.com

Well folks, it’s that time of the year again – and I’m not talking about the holidays. The cold and flu season is in full swing and it finally caught up to me this past week.

I lost out on about 48 hours of my life when I came down with some sort of stomach bug which took me out for the count this past week. I’m back at it now, but that’s a block of time I’ll never get back.

On Monday, I slept in increments of about an hour to an hour and half between needing to make trips to the bathroom. During my waking moments (because that’s all I really had was moments before crashing under the weight of fatigue), I sipped on a jug of electrolyte-infused juice. Literally sipped, because that’s all the more at a time I could keep in me. That first day, I probably only managed to consume about a measuring cup of liquid in total.

Between the two and half days I was down for the count, I was only brave enough to consume about two bottles of sport drinks, a combined big glass worth of water, five crackers, two pieces of toast and half a can of chicken noodle soup.

Let me tell you, it was an effective weight loss plan, but not one I would recommend.

When I finally started feeling pretty decent, I decided to make a quick trip to the grocery store. You know that old adage about not going shopping for food on an empty stomach? Well, apparently there’s some truth to that because a three-day fast sure caused me to unintentionally fill up my cart quick.

Thankfully, among the items I added to my cart that day which seemed to get along with my troubled tummy, I found applesauce to be top of the list. As I sit here typing this out and finishing up the paper for the evening though, my stomach is starting to growl and tell me it needs more sustenance than that. A good sign, I think.

Overall, it wasn’t the worst illness I’ve ever experienced but I sure wouldn’t want to relive it nor would I wish it on anyone else.

So folks, be sure to wash your hands often and cover your coughs.

~a(f)d~

Also, I want to give a great big shout-out to my crew at the R&F this week for keeping the ship floating while I was away. They’re always amazing, but this week they really stepped up to the plate.

They always say there are two fears of a boss should have about being away from their company for any length of time: One is you find out your team can’t manage without you, and the other is you’ll find out they can.

That, of course, is said with a grin and a wink because I’m grateful for having found just the right players for this team. They were even gracious enough to tell me they missed me.

~a(f)d~