Still Recovering from the Flu

We continue to make incremental steps forward in our recovery; however that isn’t the most important thing about which I’d like to comment. That relates to her mood today. She has been a little depressed, something that I don’t see that often. Part of the reason it made an impression on me is that she had a very good night’s sleep. She got up close to noon on Saturday and 11:00 yesterday. Today, I finally woke her up at 12:20. I didn’t rush her. She got up slowly, and we didn’t get to Panera until 2:00. Earlier this morning, I decided not to go to Rotary and to cancel the sitter. I think I did the right thing.

When she was ready, she was not cheerful. I didn’t think much about that at first. She is often not ready to engage in conversation when she gets up. She needs a little time. We were at Panera about an hour before I looked across the table and noticed that she was looking bored. I knew she was ready to go home. I asked to make sure, and she confirmed my suspicions.

It was about 3:15 when we arrived home. Recognizing that she was a little depressed, I asked if she would like to work in the yard. It’s not a beautiful day, but the temperature is warmer than we have had in a while. She indicated that she did not. I suggested that we might find a movie on TV or Netflix and watch it. She said okay without any enthusiasm. While she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, I explored movies. I suggested an old Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn movie. She indicated she didn’t want to watch a movie. I asked if she would like to look at some of our old photos from or past travels. She didn’t want that either. Then I gave her the iPad and told her to work on it in the family room, and I would find something. I found some old family photos her father had taken along with a couple of albums of our own and took them to the family room.

I sat down beside her and told her I wanted to show her something. I gave her the album with her father’s photos and let her look through them while I watched along with her. She enjoyed seeing them and took her time moving from one page to another. I was feeling good.

When she finished, I said, “Now let me show you something else.” I reached for a box of photos of our own and was going to show them to her. She said, “Do we have to do this now?” I told her no. I had already put on some music that I thought she would like and said we could enjoy the music while she worked on her iPad. She got up and went to the kitchen. In a minute, she had gone outside. I thought that might be a good thing. She hasn’t worked in the yard for more than a week. I think that is mostly because of the weather week before last. Last week, it was the flu.

She was outside for about twenty minutes before coming back inside. She asked if I were ready to go. I told her to give me a minute, and we would go. So here we are back at Panera where we are likely to stay for another 20-30 minutes before we head to Chalupas for dinner. I surely hope she feels better before bedtime tonight.