A Humdinger

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 Oh my goodness! After avoiding sniffles and sneezes for over 2 years, Yours Truly is suffering big time.

Sadly, in May 2022, we can't even tell if it's a common cold or Covid-19, the symptoms, especially after vaccination, apparently being very similar. I'm also conscious that I attended the party I blogged about last time and what could be better for spreading a cold, Covid or other infectious disease than conversing by shouting over music? No more function rooms, let's call them what they are: Soup Kitchens for the cultivation of viruses.

On the plus side, I'm testing negative but then stories abound, from multiple people I know, of  failing to register a positive test until several days after first experiencing symptoms. In the meantime the Eldest and Dilly  are due to arrive tomorrow for the weekend, after their previous trip was postponed at the last minute when Dilly tested positive.

I could, of course, be veering completely on the wrong tack and this may be a bout of hayfever. I have a history of suffering with pollen in Spring, so a running nose, sneezing and sore eyes could be expected anyway. Throw into that mix a session in the garden on Tuesday when the wind was blowing rather freshly with a field next door full of flowering rape-seed and the conditions might be just right to induce an allergic reaction.

Whatever the cause, I have to say  it actually feels novel to be clutching a paper handkerchief; just like the good old days in fact. That previous era when retirement hummed along satisfactorily and there was never any great concern over a cough or sneeze. These days, however, the prospect of cancelling guests and going into quarantine looms ominously on the horizon whenever we plan anything. If the plans are important then quarantine beforehand is a potential safeguard although the risk of contracting a virus at the event itself and having to isolate again afterwards is something probably only retired people can properly afford the time to do.

It's little wonder the anxiety and pressure build despite the best laid plans, whilst at the same time a sense of let it be, slow down, relax, accept and take what comes pervades. Push me; pull me. Retirement has certainly gained an extra dimension of late.

Photographing a flowering lilac against the sea of yellow in the field only amplified the contrast. Whether it also captured the cause, only time will tell.

 

Comments

Treaders said…
Oh poor you! In the "olden days" we would probably have said that we had a cold and family coud come or not to visit. But now??? Damn no, we have to test and test and test, don't we! Oddly enough nobody seems to have had the flu for the past two years so who really knows what's what! I hope you're feeling better now though and life will return to normal sooner rather than later!
13 May 2022 at 20:12
Caree Risover said…
True and you forgot the guilt trip if we so much as dare sneeze or, Heaven forbid, cough in a public place!
14 May 2022 at 07:28
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