The Grip

I've been under the weather this week. Monday evening was the nadir, as my stomach, etc. decided that they no longer felt like cooperating with me, and apparently went on strike. I've been recovering since then. Natalia has been kind and supportive enough to take care of both kids most of this week as I have wallowed in either pain, self-pity, or the general ennui one feels when one's entire choice of meals is soup or bread.

I called home on Wednesday and, informally, told my dad that I was not feeling so hot. "Oh really?" was the reply. "Well what's going on?" I told him, in so many words, what was going on (or what had been going on, sparing some details). I figured it was a mild stomach bug that would pass pretty soon.

My dad offered some new knowledge. "In my day we called that The Grip," he said. Huh? The what? "The bad stomach, the chills, the fever, then you're tired and weak--yes that was The Grip. Make sure to hydrate." You may be surprised to learn that my father is not, nor has he ever been, a medical professional.

Today was the first day I felt back to full health, and I decided to do some research on "The Grip" (It was admittedly very cursory...ok, I typed "the grip flu" into Google and looked at the first 3 results; listen I have 2 kids and I have very limited time to spend off-task.) Turns out The Grip was pretty serious--as it was another name for the 1918 Flu Pandemic that killed millions.

Now I'm pretty sure I didn't have that. And my dad wasn't even around in 1918 (he came onto the scene a few years later), so perhaps when he learned of "The Grip" its meaning had been appropriated to mean any nasty, flu-like illness.

As a result of whatever condition I may or may not have had, this blog has languished for a couple days too long. No more! I'm finally eating full meals again and I have been sans-headache or stomachache for 24 hours now. I fully intend to get all of my readers (yes, all 5 of you) up to date over the next few days. Bear with me. And avoid The Grip if you possibly can.