Spring Break (and being over the flu)

Hello friends! Phew, finally, I'm well enough to put up a decent blog post! It has been quite a week. I woke up exactly one week ago with a pounding head, sore throat, cough, and a fever of 100.5. I saw a doctor at a walk in clinic who gave me antibiotics, but when I was doing worse, not better, by Monday (my temperature was an average of 102 and had gotten up to 103), I went to see a very kind doctor who goes to our church. He was the one who told me I had the flu and put me on flu medicine. By Tuesday and Wednesday, I was somewhat coherent, had no fever, and was doing a good bit better. My throat had gotten worse, my nose was running, and my cough had gotten worse (all the respiratory stuff that kicks in towards the end of the flu, apparently), but I was a lot better.

From Saturday to Thursday, I was in my room almost 24/7 (usually in bed). I had some very sweet friends who checked in on me, like Kirstin, Christina, Melissa, and a few others. Lance usually called a couple of times a day to check up on me, but I wasn't allowed to see him the whole time I was sick (since his immune system is low because of the medications he's on due to his transplant). Melissa even came by to bring me several of her movies so I could have something to do during my confinement. My friend, Ira, the lovely lady from India, checked in on me a good deal those first several days, even cooking simple meals for me a couple of times. "Aunt" Janie, an old friend I knew when I was little in Indonesia, took me to the doctor on Monday and checked in on me the rest of the week. And, of course, my loving parents called several times a day (when the time differences allowed) to check up on me and also to give me somebody to talk to during my long hours in the my room alone. By Thursday, I was able to venture out to our dorm's lobby; I got to watch a movie with Lance that afternoon (although we couldn't sit very close) and that evening I also came out to visit with Lance, Ira, and some with Christina and Kirstin. (I cannot tell you how good it was to have human contact again!)

Friday was my busiest day, and my most active of the week. I got up, cleaned my room, packed my things for Spring break, and even managed to go to choir (the only class I made it to all week, by the way). Lance and I drove to Ft. Worth that afternoon (and we got to drive most of the way there with Melissa, who was following us), and I got to eat supper with his family that evening. My grandparents happened to be in the Arlington area that evening, so it worked out really well for us to meet them there and for me to go on home with them. Phew! I was tired! That was my first day out of my dorm in a week, and it was the most activity I'd done in a week as well. It was also about the most food I'd eaten in a good while (yeah, I didn't really eat much while I was sick...I lost a good bit of weight).

So now I'm at my grandparents' house, and I got a wonderful 12-hour sleep last night. For lunch, my aunt, uncle, and cousins came over to eat with us; they are leaving shortly for Indonesia for a while, so I was glad to get to see them before they leave. I helped the oldest of my three cousins, who's 12, shop for a shirt this afternoon as well. Other than that, I've been looking over all the make-up work I'll need to do this week for school, but it shouldn't be too bad. My plans this week are mostly to relax, rest, recuperate, and get some work done that I missed while I was out with the flu.

I hope all of you have a wonderful week, whether you're on Spring break or not! I wanted to close with an awesome, inspiring quote I read in a Guideposts magazine:

You have set goals for yourselves. I have heard some of them. But I don't think you have set them high enough. You have talent and intelligence and a chance. I think you should take those goals and expand them. Think of the most you could do with your lives. Make what you do matter. Above all, dream big.
--Catherine Marshall to the contestants of the 1963 America's Junior Miss competition