The answer could be yes if the man of the house doesn't get his tuchas off the couch SOON.
We both have had colds for the last week but to see David languishing on the couch, you'd think it was the end of the world. I will tell you this–he is a trooper. He will suffer mostly in silence to show how manly he is. I've learned to decipher his moans, groans and sad, puppy dog eyes but I can tell what he's doing. He's doing the "I'm sicker than you are" act. Just because I don't sit around "acting sick" doesn't mean I'm not feeling it.
David's the type who spends a lot of time outdoors working in the yard mowing, trimming, fertilizing, or building something. He's as handy as a pocket on a shirt. Thankfully he likes to keep busy until he comes down with the dreaded and sometimes potentially fatal (in their minds) Man Cold. Or what we women refer to as a common head cold. Right now I can barely breathe but does he care? If he did, he wouldn't be sleeping right now. He'd be taking care of me.
We made a run to the drugstore so David could stock up on all the latest in Man Cold remedies. We filled our buggy with throat spray, night-time cold/flu pills, day-time cold/flu pills, fever reducers, pain relievers, vitamin C pills, cough drops, sports hydration drinks, orange juice, and anything else he thought might help. Luckily, we still have the large supply of disinfectant wipes we purchased during the pandemic. They came in a package of three large round containers and we still have two and a half left. Maybe that's why he's sick? Ya think? Nah. Anyway, I assured him this, too, shall pass soon. By the rolling of his eyes, I'm not sure he believed me.
For the last few days, to hear him tell it, he has been suffering from the worst of the worst. Nobody in the history of mankind has suffered the way he is suffering. Right now we are on day six of him lying on the couch or in his recliner with a blanket pulled up to his chin. He's convinced he won't live to see tomorrow. And he might not if he doesn't get up off that couch (just kidding). Maybe. Or maybe not. We'll see how this week progresses.
It's well over 80 degrees outside today which is very cool weather for this time of year (SUMMER) but you'd think we've been hit with an arctic blast. If I turn on the air conditioner for even a minute to neutralize the sweat running down my brow, he wakes up and moans at me to turn it off. He's freezing!
If our marriage survives the next few days, it'll be a miracle. I have to be honest here, I've had the very same cold for the very same amount of time, and what have I been doing? Everything I normally do. I pop a pill and go about my day–taking care of the manbaby who has been sleeping on the couch all afternoon.
Out of curiosity, I decided to do a little research on types of colds, i.e. summer colds vs. winter colds.
According to my extensive research of trolling the internet for the last 20 minutes, I have discovered that a summer cold is caused by the enterovirus, and winter colds are caused by rhinoviruses. Rhinoviruses don't like to work past Memorial Day and turns over the cold-causing duties to the enterovirus until really cold weather sets in again.
Enteroviruses are wicked little minute specks that travel through the air and are guaranteed to be sent my way anytime I'm within 10 miles of the virus spreader. Rhinoviruses, you don't want to know.
Scientists discovered that cold-like symptoms in humans originated in birds and crossed over to us approximately 200 years ago. I knew there was a reason I don't like those noisy excrement-dropping machines hanging around my yard.
In the interest of fair play, there is a real scientific reason men have it worse when they have colds versus when we women have colds which can be summed up in one word–hormones.
Estrogen has been found to boost women's immune systems and make us a little bit hardier when it comes to illnesses whereas testosterone depresses man's immune system and the ability to fight off the common cold. This is also why men take twice as long to recover from illnesses or maybe it just feels like it from a woman's point of view.
I think I'll go take care of my cold while he's sleeping so I can be ready to nurse the Man Cold patient when he awakens.