flu season scares the crap out of me.

Not because I have an irrational fear of sickness. Which, I do. But not of flu-like sickness. Of stomach-virus-like sickness.

Nope. The reason that I fear flu season is VERY rational... I have had the flu. Many people claim to have had the flu. They will call the common cold 'the flu.' Oh how very wrong they are. I got the flu last January (2008) and I have never, ever been so sick in my life.

Sidenote: Elijah was visiting College Station, where Patrick was living at the time, and so my sweet fiance couldn't tear himself away from his beloved city to come to Houston and tend to the flu. :-) No hard feelings. I believe he was finding out, that particular weekend, that his friends planned to take him to the Grand Canyon. And lets be honest, that's more fun than your flu-ridden fiance. Plus he did come eventually. 20 points for him even being near me at that time.

Anyway, I digress. I got the flu, as in I went to the doctor and tested positive. I couldn't even walk up and down the stairs. (I have a little bit of a beef with the doctor I visited who kept me at her office for a good hour after I tested positive before I finally left with my perscription. But I digress yet again.) I was given said perscription, had an allergic reation to it, broke out in a rash and threw up a lot (remember my insane fear of throw up?! worst. week. ever.), had to stop taking the medicine, and just battled it out with the flu for like 10 days or something. Oh and to add to the madness, when I called this wonderful doctor to inform her of the vomiting that I didn't experience until the medicine kicked in, her nurse told me "That's not possible. The medicine isn't that strong." Really... really?! I must be imagining it then. Then when I eventually broke out in a rash and went back into the doctor, they just told me I had to stop taking it and there was really nothing else I could do. Fabulous.

All of this happened before I had ever had a flu shot in my life. Now, my father swears against the flu shot. The only time he has ever gotten the flu was the only year he got a flu shot. And man did he get the flu... he was out of work for 11 days. And I can't remember another time in my life he took time off for being sick. However, the year that I got the flu, I had never gotten the shot. So I decided this past flu season (late 2008) to get the shot. Turns out I react to the shot also... surprise surprise. And had intense flu-like symptoms for a couple days which, although it's shorter than the actual flu (which I managed to avoid for that flu season), still sucks.

What a dilemma. They are bringing the people who do the flu shots into church in October and I will probably avoid it now that I know the result. I can imagine the call into work. 'Yes, this is Becky Gilgour. I will be out sick on October 5th and 6th. How do I know? Well I'm getting a flu shot on the 4th and my body is just weird.' So come February, I am so hoping to be doing the happy dance that I have managed to avoid the flu all on my own, without the terrible shot.

Phew. What a post about nothing.

On a much, much lighter and entirely more pleasant note, Patrick got me flowers for no apparent reason (other than he's great) on Saturday. And I'm about to go walk into the office and convince him we should go shopping. Hooray for long weekends!

Oh and I think I will probably bust out our fall decorations! Yes, the blazing heat rages outside my window at the moment, but it's September and I want to. Starbucks has brought out their fall stuff... so I basically have to follow suit. Right?