Today was great because I felt sick. Allow me to explain: Today was not great although I felt sick. Today was not great despite my feeling sick. Today was great because I felt sick.
All summer, I was cold, flu, and plague free. Today, for the first time in months, I had a head cold. This was no mild head cold. This was me miserable, blowing gobs into plaid handkerchiefs. This was me sleepless, waking in the middle of the night for want of sufficient oxygen. Because I felt sick, today was great.
My feeling sick made me feel thankful for the little comforts I normally take for granted. First of all, I normally felt well. I remembered how I felt before feeling sick, and I felt hopeful I would recover.
Second, those around me felt well. Feeling as I did, I would not wish a cold on my worst enemy. If my worst enemy walked up to me with a cold, I would hold out a tissue.
Third, I knew I was sick. Feeling sick, I could prepare for my day so that I might avoid getting other people sick. I may have to burn my handkerchiefs to properly disinfect them, but those should be the only things carrying my germs.
Fourth, I had friends and colleagues who comforted me. Everyone who saw I was sick wished me a speedy recovery. No one wished that I might feel worse. This made me more thankful for number three.
Fifth, a friend from Rollins called me that night to say he was in town. While I still felt sick, by that night I was feeling better. I was glad I would see my friend the next day because I would have more fun feeling less sick. I felt grateful for number four again.
Six, I handled feeling sick better than I would have previously. This summer, I might have let it bother me. I had a lot of practice focusing on the good rather than the bad in my life this summer. I rather would have only good things happen to me. Bad things do happen though, so I am thankful I can find good in them when they do.
Last but not least, seven, it gave me something to write about for today’s blog. That was a special relief because I was having a hard time coming up with a topic. Thank you for reading today. Be well.