NOTE: As should be evident from the title, this post briefly contains puke. (And other unpleasant bodily functions.) Fair warning should you choose to read on.
Yesterday I was sick.
Not sick like “I have a tummy ache” sick.
Sick sick. Like completely miserable, stuck on the toilet, out-both-ends sick.
There are two things that do that to me. One is bad food. The other is bad medicine. Yesterday’s adventure was the latter.
My husband and I are visiting family right now, doing as much of a ‘family vacation’ as we can manage while social dustancing in the Year of the Face Mask. We are re-visiting with my parents, sister, and nieces some of the places my family went when I was a kid, which is nostalgic in a “Remember when this was nothing but fields?” and “Good grief, things have changed!” kind of way.
Yesterday, the plan was to visit an island.
We made it to the island, but things did NOT go according to plan.
Because I was SICK.
Too much Tylenol to assuage a killer migraine the night before combined with acidic orange juice in the morning to make the bumpy jet-ferry ride over choppy water a misery. By the time we got off the boat I could barely stand up straight. But, rather than go back to the mainland, I tried to be a trooper and stay.
Mostly I ‘stayed’ on benches.
For at least two hours I ‘stayed’ on the ground, curled up on my side, in too much pain to move and too dizzy/nauseous to stand.
And then I found a bathroom (public bathrooms are my nightmare, by the way) where I stayed quite uncomfortably for about 20 minutes, losing my shit.
Literally.
Oh, and puking my guts out.
At the same time.
(I’m talented like that. I can pat my head and rub my belly simultaneously too.)
I recognize that there is a toxicology to meds. That sometimes the ones that assist in one way can cause you misery in another, that all things chem have the potential to harm even if they heal. I know that my vomitous experience yesterday was my body’s way of expelling the excess pharmacology, of ridding itself of poison.
I just wish my sour stomach hadn’t soured our plans.
We were supposed to go to the pre-Colonial fort and give my nieces the island tour. We were supposed to have lunch together and indulge in the island’s famous fudge then go on a carriage ride tour. “Remember when” and “like we used to do” are so much more fun when three generations are sharing their stories and learning new things together.
I remember when…
- my brother and father and I stood with our heads and arms stuck through the stocks at the fort
- the only mode of transportation available for tourists on the island was horseback or walking
- there was plenty of room to play on the grass at the waterfront park
- the ferry service to and from the island required no tickets
- my brother and I got stomach aches from all the fudge but still wanted more (More! MORE! It’s so delicious!)
And now…
I’m pretty sure my nieces are going to remember…
- that time Auntie Feve took us out to the island and puked her guts out
But you know…
Family is a complicated animal.
Not all my memories of childhood trips like the stockade-and-fudge adventures I outlined above are pleasant; when I was a kid, there were tensions and trials and tempers unsuited to child-rearing that reared their ugly heads on these kinds of vacations, to say the least. Fun could turn vile in an instant back then. It’s one of the things that poisoned our familial relationships.
But I don’t see that now. Here.
My nieces had a good time yesterday even though we couldn’t do all of the things we had planned. My parents managed to go the full day without fighting. Some of the adjustments we made because of my sickness yesterday cost us – money, time, patience, potential enjoyment – but everyone — aged 7 to 70 — made their adjustments without complaint.
My previous experiences as a member of this family would not have led me to believe that was possible.
But maybe…
Just maybe…
In the same way my body purged itself yesterday of the bad medicine I’d fed it…
Maybe my family, too, has gradually gotten their poison out.
for the Reminiscences prompt: OUT
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Families are indeed odd creatures – so many memories both good and bad to navigate.
I have had that kind of gut purge when I was poisoned by bad fish – u literally can not move – and it prob was your bodies way of saying i want those meds out now. Sometimes our bodies do the right thing even thou the consequence is not nice at the time
May x
They are — and it’s so weird to me to see how my parents are with my sister, who is a decade younger than me, and also with her kids, compared to how they were all those years ago.
And you’re right about the body’s reaction. Migraines are a lose-lose situation for me, because the meds that bring healing also bring new pain. It’s frustrating.
Oh no! Hope you are feeling better now. It’s no fun puking out your guts. I always feel gross when I puke. No matter how much I brush my teeth or shower, I still feel gross after puking.
Ditto.
And I always feel guilty because it seems to only happen when I have plans.
I am so sorry to hear you have been so sick, but glad to see the positive note to the end!
~ Marie
It was short-lived, thank goodness.
Been there done that—and hopefully never again. I don’t seem to get migraines anymore. I still get the occasional headache, but migraines—nope! But I’ve done the vomit/shot thing before and it’s honestly not all it’s cracked up to be! 😜😜
Glad you’re feeling better and also that the day seemed ok for everyone else. That’s a plus in my book. Stay well!
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Lucky you! I’ve got my migraines largely under control, but they still hit me sometimes. Bleh.
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