Welp, the last several days have been an unexpected bust. All the research and hikes I did leading up to helping my friend Tiffanie take the Scouts on a 20-mile hike on Labor Day were for naught because I got sick.
Really sick.
As in I can-barely-make-it-up-the-stairs-without-passing-out sick.
I’ve wised up over the years and instead of wallowing in misery for several days before seeking medical attention, I can tell the difference between a cold and an infection/virus.
Mostly because I rarely get colds and tend to go for the Big Dogs.
We have a lovely treasure trove of antibiotics from my frequent outbreaks and I started on them right away. However, on Night 2 I was in a lot of pain so Jamie gave me a half a Percocet.
It numbed the pain but it was like SPEEEEEEEEEEED. “LOOK AT ME! I’M AWAKE ALL NIGHT! AND STILL SICK!”
Note to self: Stay away from Percocet if I ever want to sleep again.
I feel really bummed I had to miss the big hike and also our annual trek to St. Mary’s Glacier on Saturday but this is not the first time something like this has happened. Four years ago, Jamie and I were supposed to lead a large group of teenage girls on their first ever multi-day backpacking trip for girl’s camp.
Note: I said supposed to.
I instead spent that week on my deathbed due to the plague that struck the night before our trip. This wasn’t your friendly, everyday sniffling and hacking plague.
Are you sensing a pattern here? Yes, extreme illness but perhaps the Lord is sending a very strong message: He does not want me taking the youth in the backcountry under any circumstances.
Duly noted. Now, can I please get better?
The kids and I spent the last several days snuggled up on our couch in the basement having a Lord of the Rings marathon. Now, this isn’t something I ever would have shown my kids (Harry Potter terrifies them) but when we were at my in-laws for Christmas a couple of years ago, LOTR was on TV and they loved it.
A few months later, we watched the trilogy and as the final credits rolled, little Bode proclaimed, “Dis is the best day of my life.”
The kid apparently had a pretty low standard.
But laying low is just what we’ve been doing and it’s been the one glorious part of our busted long weekend.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 