thank you, to the flu

The flu has graced my body with its presence.

Thank you, flu.

Thank you for making me feel like crap.

Thank you for making me drop out of the race this morning, less than halfway through, in tears and hacking up a lung, because apparently this isn't just a little first-thing-in-the-morning phlegm. (Sorry, I'm sure you wanted to read that.)

Thank you for making me miss the free 7 habits workshop that sweet hubby and I were supposed to attend together.

Thank you for sweet hubby driving me to the doctor's care, filling out paperwork, trying to eat lunch, then trading it for a rest at home for 15 min. before driving me back to doctor's care and sitting with me in the little room for about an hour while they eliminated strep from the diagnosis (I've been on amoxycilan (sp.) for 5 days, so it was very unlikely that would be the diagnosis in any case.), then stuck a q-tip up my nose for a flu test, and took chest x-rays.

Thank you for sweet hubby stopping at walgreens to fill my prescriptions and taking me home, fixing me a fruit smoothie with honey instead of sugar, and not making noise in the house so I could sleep it off for a few hours.

Thank you for my team teacher, Susan, who answered my phone call, gave me some phone numbers of potential subs, and reminded me of what I did and didn't need to plan for this week, what with Valentine's day and Fossil Frank coming on Tuesday.

Thank you for one of my student's parents, who subs a lot at the school and decided that she would like to learn Spanish just because and has gotten good enough over the past few years to do a day or two here or there of subbing IN SPANISH. Thank you for being available and willing to take my crazy kids for Valentine's day *and* this Friday when I have a meeting all day at school.

Thank you for the NP who decided to tell me that under no circumstances am I to return to school until Wednesday, and only then if I am feeling 100%. Thank you for making the decision for me, since on my own I was unlikely to slow down for that long.

Thank you for the school technology system, which allows me to access all of my files saved on my G drive at school from online, and therefore gives me access to my lesson plans and smartboard presentations and a whole host of resources that make amending my plans for a sub so easy to do from home.

Thank you for my sweet mama and daddy, who, after a quick phone call, put together a bag of saltines, bread, and gingerale to drop off at my house since sweet hubby needed to go do something for a friend for a few hours (pre-planned and totally approved by me, even sick -- I hate to make other people cancel their plans because I feel bad -- he could hang out here, but since I'm basically a vegetable or sleeping today, I'm glad he could keep his commitment) and we didn't have any super-bland foods on hand....

Thank you to sweet Ann, who has volunteered to take over all of my duties at the university church this weekend/week, first setting up for dinner tomorrow night and then leading Bible study for me.

Thank you, self, for making a million pairs of pajama pants in the fall, so that I can wear clean PJs everyday that I am out sick and not have to do laundry in order to do so.

Thank you for sweet friends on facebook, who are expressing support and offering to bring anything and everything I could need to me.

Thank you, flu, for making me feel like crap so that I can better appreciate the people around me for the blessings that they are to me.