There's something perversely nice about falling sick.

After 5-6 years of being free from any form of common sickness in the U.S., the new lifestyle or environment in Asia finally took its toll on me. I came home from Bangkok with no voice, slight rise in temperature and an extremely cranky mood.

But yeah, why do I say that it's nice?

Reason #1) When you're sick, you drop the stuff that you were engrossed in and start focusing on yourself (which is probably what you've neglected for the longest time). This is the time I totally pamper myself. It's "me me and me" all the way. XD I start paying more attention on what I eat, what I drink and how my body feels. I give myself long hot showers, and lay down in bed for as long as I want to. If there is any part of my body which hurts, I focus on soothing it. While the medicine is disgusting and I hate popping pills, the majority of my time is spent making myself feel good and happy.

Reason #2) People also stop pushing you or pressuring you the moment they hear that you're sick. They have the heart to sympathize and wish you good recovery. It doesn't really matter what their intentions are in seeing you get better; whether it's "Gee, it sucks. I hate being sick. I hope you start feeling better soon." or "Gee, hope she gets better so we can get this project done and finish off where we left." The most important thing is ppl back off and give you the much-needed rest your body had been screaming for weeks but your mind ignored because you were too busy attending to other ppl's needs.

So, in a way, I'm grateful for common sicknesses. It provides a good gauge on how much your body can take physical, mental and emotional stress. While nursing myself, I've been thinking back on what I've been enduring for the last few weeks and am in full agreement that my body has a good point. We're not robots. This type of sickness reminds us of our humanity.