Vacation? It wasn’t meant to be

Next year, I may volunteer to be the poster child for the “Get your flu shot” campaign. 

This was supposed to be my long-planned spring-break staycation. I was taking a week off, and the modest plan was to clean out one room in my house. I’d hoped to focus on my home office, which was starting to look like it could be an episode of “Hoarders.” OK, it wasn’t just starting; it was well on its way.

When I left the Voice’s office Friday, the coming week was full of promise. Perhaps I’d attend the joint Reform service at Temple Habonim. And I’d told the folks at Temple Shalom in Middletown that I’d try to attend their Purim Spiel, relocated due to broken pipes and a subsequent flood.

But I was tired, so I stayed home Friday night. By midday Saturday, I knew there was something wrong. But I held out hope that I’d just take the weekend to rest, and then I’d have the entire week ahead to get through my to-do list. But it was not to be: the couch in the den became my closest friend as the aches, pains, headache and other symptoms that would later be confirmed to be Influenza Type A settled in.

This was not what I planned for my spring break.

In the last 25 years, I’ve probably missed three flu shots. You guessed it: this year was one of those years. I won’t go into the reasoning and rationale. What’s the point now? But believe me when I tell you that all those people who say, “Flu … ohhhhh, I’ll NEVER go through that again,” are absolutely correct. Still, I guess it could have been worse because I didn’t run a high fever like many people do.

I’m writing this one week after taking to the couch, and I’m still not back to my energetic self. The paper will publish next week thanks to our staff. And I mean that … THANKS!!!! Everyone stepped up this cycle.

And to those of you who wonder what happened to your letter or your email, or why I didn’t show up as promised, my apologies. I had the best of intentions. Now you know!

As for that home office … please don’t send a camera crew.