Flu Lessons

I just finished up a 3-day bout of the flu (which should explain my lack of blog posts). My 103.9 degree fever, chills, body aches, headaches and fatigue actually taught me a few things. Here are a few of my Flu Lessons:

• I need more babysitters on speed dial. I was way too sick to take care of my kids properly, and so family had to pitch in. Between Hubby's mom and my dad, I did have someone else here during the roughest patch of my illness. It helped greatly just to have another person to wipe noses, change diapers and fill sippy cups. But if my illness had stretched on just one more day, I would have found myself doing it all alone, since work schedules would have meant most of the extended family was unable to help. Having a few more babysitters waiting in the stables would have been really useful.

• I need to boost my first aid preps. I thought I had a pretty decent stockpile of OTC meds, but apparently I don't have nearly enough. I purchased 3 bottles of ibuprofen a while back during a $1 sale and thought it would last my family at least a year, but I almost finished off the last bottle during my illness. Clearly I am underestimating my family's need for painkillers.

• I need to get in better shape. This bout of flu really kicked my ass in a major way. For two days I could barely move off the couch. Now, I know that illness can hit anyone--even the very healthy. But I do believe that being fit and eating the proper foods can help your body fight off disease and viruses. I can't help but wonder if I would have gotten less sick if I'd been eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise. As it was, I was only down for 3 days (and, really, by the third day I was feeling back to about 90% normal), so that's not too bad. But could I have done even better?