It’s been a very long time since I’ve been flat on my back, in bed, sick. But that is exactly the position I’ve found myself in during the last few days. You can probably guess…I have COVID. Well, I had a positive antigen screen, anyway. My symptoms are what most experience, so I won’t go into those in too much detail. Mostly, it’s the coughing and achiness that have bothered me the most, along with the vague headache that comes and goes.

All this gave rise to me seeking comfort. I grabbed my warmest blankets, my most comfortable pillow, an 800-page novel, a cup of hot tea, and made myself a nest in the corner of our couch. It’s pretty much where I’ve been for the last 48 hours. Day and night. Night and day. On the couch.

I hate feeling that I’m wasting time. And, I do feel that way. I have piles to clean out, rooms to purge, and of course, laundry to do. But, I have little energy for any of it. It will have to wait. My home office, which I started cleaning out on Monday, has paper piles strewn across the floor. These are papers I’ve decided to keep and now have to file. The trash can is overflowing too. But, I’m on the couch. I’m lucky I can close the door and have it all wait for another day.

I’ve asked my husband for ginger ale. This sweet soda is another comfort I seek when I don’t feel well. The fireplace is on and I watch a red-tailed hawk sit in the tree in the dry creek bed next to our house. He’s looking for lunch. Two fleece blankets are arranged and rearranged as I try to get comfortable in my makeshift couch bed. My sweats allow me to lounge without feeling the constriction of denim or a belt around the waist of my jeans.

I try to nap but sleep evades me. I know I’ll feel better if I can just sleep. Cold medicines are not my friend. Their chemical contents make me feel “weird” almost producing an out-of-body experience. “No,” I told my husband at lunchtime, I’m not taking anything but ibuprofen today. The cold medicines haven’t helped.

Rest will help.

Hot tea held in my hands helps.

Blankets help.

A book helps.

Ginger ale helps.

I’m lucky that I’ve been vaccinated and boostered and am only just a little sick, I tell myself. But, it’s the sickest I’ve been in years and not nearly as sick as some. I’m lucky I can be comforted.

Tomorrow will be a better day; I’m sure of it!