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Dueling symptoms
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___It’s dueling symptoms time at our house. First, Mark got a nasty virus from which the doctor said it could take up to two weeks to recover. Then, he gave it to me. Naturally.
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ALISON WINGFIELD
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Unfortunately, Mark has not quite recovered from the bug himself, so we have to play tag team. I lay down for awhile, then he lies down for awhile. He takes care of the kids. Then I take care of the kids.
___ Then there is the moaning and groaning. I have a fever. He has a sore throat. I can’t move. He can’t breathe. When we said the vows "in sickness and in health," I don’t remember anything about the battle for who can be the sickest.
___ Vying for each other’s sympathy or figuring out who is the most pitiful is all we’ve had the strength to do around here. Of course, being both the lone female and a mommy, I should know better than to try and compete. Males always seem to feel worse, and mommies can’t call in sick. Mark is quick to point out that he had a higher fever and I don’t seem to be getting the sore throat (which he still has).
___ Thank goodness the boys have not caught this thing. Then we really would be in a pickle. They have been so sweet, making us cards and praying for us to get better soon. Of course, before you think our children are such paragons, they also have managed to sneak in a lot more computer and TV time than they are usually allowed while their parents have been oblivious.
___ Now that I’m in the throes of the illness, you would think I would be more sympathetic to Mark and what he has been through. Instead, I would prefer he stop complaining and get over it. It’s my turn now.
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___I really do understand how Alison feels. Been there, done that, got the doctor's bill to prove it.
___ And, yes, the greatest temptation of sickness is to
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MARK WINGFIELD
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fall into utter selfishness. When you don't feel well, it's incredibly difficult to be compassionate and caring toward others.
___ The second greatest temptation of illness is envy. When you don't have the strength to do the things you want to do, it's quite easy to be envious of others who are doing those things.
___ Many times in the last week I have uttered sentences beginning with, "I wish I could … ." And then I slumped back down in a soft chair and fell asleep.
___ I realize some people enjoy poor health, but not me. Being sick just makes me mad. I don't want to slow down, get behind and have to miss previously scheduled engagements.
___ And I especially hate coming down with something only vaguely diagnosable and not at all treatable. I guess we all want an instant cure these days. When there's nothing you can do but wait out a virus to run its course, you feel even more desperate.
___ The whole thing at least reminds us of the blessing of good health. You never know how blessed you are to function as well as you do until you suddenly can't function that well.
___ With Alison catching this bug, though, I've encountered yet another problem. She's not acting nearly as sick as I did, and she's still functioning a lot more--making lunches, getting the boys off to schools and all the routine stuff.
___ I do hope it's because she has a milder case of this malady. Surely it couldn't be because women persevere better under illness than men, could it?
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Mark Wingfield is managing editor of the Standard. Alison Wingfield is a freelance writer. The Wingfields moved to Texas from Louisville, Ky., where Mark had been editor of the Western Recorder, in which this column appeared weekly.
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