Some of you may already know that last week I was lucky enough to be one of the latest victims of the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Virus, aka the “Swine Flu”. If you have already had it, you know that you are knocked out for about a week. I am currently feeling much better, but still very drained of energy. I thought you might like to learn some of the lessons I learned while I was trying to survive.

1. First and foremost, daytime television sucks! Don’t get me wrong, I spent a good portion of my teen years and beyond enjoying daytime television. I remember right after I had each of my three children, daytime television was my saving grace. I was so tired, I could barely see straight, I had this little man attached to me 24/7 and my hormones were raging so much I didn’t even know which end was up. Not to mention the fact I was crying half the time…if not more. But, it has been a while since I have had some good “quality” time to watch daytime television. Definitely not for me anymore.
2. The news is really depressing. I spent my life from the time I was in college until I had my children being a news junky. Ever since I had Derek, I have been slowly weening myself off of the news, to the point where I almost never see it now. I have had people criticizing me for not “wanting to know what is going on in the world”. However, I counter with the fact that I do want to know, I just want to be selective with how I obtain the information. The news media is so distorted and negative. Their main purpose is to scare us to death.
3. The news really exaggerates. As mentioned above I am fairly certain I had the swine flu last week. How do I know this? Well, I did receive my flu shot a couple of months ago for the seasonal flu. My three boys and my mom have all received their swine flu vaccinations. I was not able to obtain one. None of them have caught it. Plus, the doctors say it is pretty much all that is out there right now. They have made it sound like you would die if you had the swine flu. Yes, it was miserable. Yes, I felt like I was going to die one day last week, but that is normal with the flu. Yes, it was unpleasant. However, the last time I had the flu, it was much, much worse. IT’S THE FLU!!!!! Did they really have to create this pandamonium about the flu?!
4. It really stinks having a birthday in December for more than one reason. Okay, yes, there are obvious reasons for not wanting your birthday in December. I have been able to relate to that my whole life with my birthday being December 17th. Let’s just say there is a reason my boys birthdays are all in May and June. I have had the flu three times in my life that I can remember (I am sure there are more as a child, but three is all I can recall). All three…yes, all three have been over my birthday. My sweet sixteen was ruined by the flu. My 20th birthday was ruined by the flu, not to mention the fact is was finals week in college, but that is another gripe. And, now so was my 34th birthday. Really flu?! REALLY!?!?!? Could you please try to find a better time next time…
5. And, finally, you are never too old to have a birthday do over. I was so bummed when I woke up on my birthday feeling the worst I had felt all week. My fever was over 102 for the whole day. I could barely get off the couch to go to the bathroom let alone anything else. My husband had arranged to take the day off of work and everything. But, alas, I sent him to work. No point in him coming down with the flu too. So, my 34th birthday will go down in the history books as me sitting on the couch watching horrible daytime television and getting depressed watching the news. Luckily, I was feeling well enough on Saturday to go out to dinner and a movie with my fabulous husband. Do overs are good!

Do not despair if you end up with the Swine Flu. Although unpleasant, it is just the flu. Yes, I know, some people may have complications, you just have to be vigilant and know your body. Make sure to take care of yourself so you can rebound faster.