Home Alone

My Christmas Eve was on the quiet side. There were no gifts that needed to be bought and no visits or meals planned. I did however receive an unexpected and unwelcome gift, the feeling of impending illness. As the day progressed I was feeling progressively worse with a sense like my energy was draining, a dry cough, and a general feeling of malaise. I took two Unisom Christmas Eve in the hopes that a deep and prolonged sleep would lead to my waking up Christmas morning feeling refreshed. My plan was unsuccessful.

The Unisom definitely did keep me asleep. I did not crawl out of bed until something like 9:30 which is absolutely unheard of for me, especially on Christmas. However when I did awake I felt even worse. I now had chills, overall body pains, GI issues, and a severe lack of energy. Combining this illness with the reality of my first Christmas that involved just myself and Elsa in the house was a bad combination.

I opened the gifts I received from my family which were thoughtful and generous, the funniest being the picture my sister and Damon had made for me. I got the most enjoyment from opening Elsa’s gifts for her. Somehow she reacts to opening her presents and gets very excited when I pull out a new toy for her. She planted herself next to me the entire time. Still things felt hollow, not that I was surprised by it, I knew it would be.

The lethargy really kicked in after I opened the presents. I had maybe 15 minutes of clean up I needed to do but I laid on the couch for at least 90 minutes trying to summon the motivation and energy to do so. I hated feeling this way. This continued all day long where watching TV seemed like the most amount of work I was capable of doing at the time. I set my alarm for work but I knew I was unlikely to go in if I felt anything similar to how I was all day.

When 6:30 arrived with the alarm I immediately called off. I still felt miserable albeit slightly less so than the day before. I still have spent the majority of the day doing a whole lot of nothing but I can at least function at a basic level, which I couldn’t do 24 hours prior. I’m hoping to be able to regroup enough to drag myself into work tomorrow.

So yea, the 2024 version of Christmas was not what I would define as good. It was unique in the solitude that surrounded it for sure. I’m hoping the 2025 version marks a return to illness free and happy celebration instead of whatever mess I want to call this.