I had one of my cold spells today. It isn’t a huge emergency or even a medical issue. Sometimes my body temperature goes much lower than it should. I become extremely cold. My symptoms are like hypothermia. The best thing I can do is lie in a warm bed with lots of blankets and rest until my body temperature goes back up. Usually, I find that it takes a couple of hours. These spells started happening right about the same time the pandemic started. I’ve been living with them for a long time.
Today, I did exactly what I always do, but my elderly aunt didn’t understand. She wanted me to get out of bed and sit with her. And when I wouldn’t, she thought I was sick. No matter how much I explain things to her, she won’t understand what I try to explain to her. For her, I sort of understand because she is older, she is special as for as intelligence, she is hard of hearing, and she might be getting a little dementia. However, it also annoys me because it reminds me so much of my own mother.
When I was sick, my mother would know that I was in bed sleeping and she would call me up to check on me. She couldn’t understand that I was a middle-aged woman capable of taking care of myself and that what I really needed what to rest not to answer the phone.
I didn’t understand why my husband wanted me to leave him alone when he was sick when we first got married, but now I do. If you are capable of taking care of yourself, then you just want to take care of yourself and have everyone else just leave you alone because you don’t feel good. Unfortunately, my blood relatives don’t understand boundaries and can’t understand: leave me alone because I am sick and resting.
I don’t know if there’s a solution, but I do understand both sides now. I hope that it helps me in the future to have more patience. If not, I just pray that God helps me to feel warm tonight.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
