When will I learn to listen? Not only recognize when wisdom presents itself to me, but also to learn from it. Act upon it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And when my wife tells me something, just dang-well do it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Example A: My recent COVID booster shot. It wasn\u2019t getting the shot that was the issue. That was no problem, and I did it of my own free will. When I learned that anyone who had received Johnson and Johnson\u2019s vaccine more than 2 months ago was eligible not only for a booster, but could now mix-and-match with the shot of their choosing, I did some research, settled on Moderna and went off to get my<\/p>\n\n\n\n
jab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pat on the back. Nicely done. I\u2019m all done \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Except for the advice given: \u201cOK, now remember, you don\u2019t know how your immune system will react afterward,\u201d my wife said. \u201cSo, you need to drink lots of fluids, rest and take it easy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Advice reaction: Take it easy!?! That\u2019s for suckers! That\u2019s what they WANT you to think. I haven\u2019t figured out why yet, but I\u2019m sure it has something to do with robbing your 401k while you take a nap. Besides, I don\u2019t \u201ctake it easy.\u201d That\u2019s not who I am. My motto is: Make it difficult. Even if you pay for it later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is the wisdom of a moron. Hear me roar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Example B: Nice gentleman gets his jab. Feels a little soreness in his arm. Figures this is what his wife was warning him about. Figures that to comply with her request, he can \u201ctake it easy\u201d by eating his bag of potato chips with his left hand instead of his sore right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy wife will be so proud,\u201d he thinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then I commenced going about my business, which included having a beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A booming alert siren went off at my house: \u201cYou can\u2019t drink alcohol after you had your vaccine!!!\u201d my wife said, horrified. \u201cYour immune system will be compromised. It says so right here on the Internet. You\u2019re going to end up feeling a whole lot worse!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Example C: She was right. The next morning I woke up feeling a little tight. So, like all good and sensible folks, I decided to go for a run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAre you crazy?!?\u201d my wife said, which I kind of find a disingenuous question. It\u2019s pretty clear where she stands on my mental state. This is straight commentary. \u201cYou aren\u2019t supposed to do any physical activity right after you get your vaccine. That is the exact opposite of resting and taking it easy. You\u2019re supposed to let the vaccine do its trick and build-up your immune system. Don\u2019t you know these things? Didn\u2019t you read the paperwork?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPaperwork?!?\u201d I said. \u201cThey have paperwork?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was not a clever defense. And I decided on a new tactic: Digging the hole deeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d I said. \u201cMy immune system is great. I just ran 4 miles. Clearly I\u2019m OK. Things like this just don\u2019t affect people like me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGRRRR! You\u2019re telling me you didn\u2019t feel any different on your run?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, now that you mention it, I did have a pretty bad headache,\u201d I replied. \u201cAnd I went through some spells where my body seized up like a boa constrictor was squeezing the life out of me. Plus, I would black out and crash into a tree. That only happened three or four times. But I don\u2019t see how any of that is connected to the booster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My wife just stared at me. By the movement of her lips, I could tell she was mouthing something un-printable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cListen. I don\u2019t mean to brag, but I probably have a super-human immune system,\u201d I said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m able to eat so much food that has fallen on the ground. Science should really study me.\u201d Things you should never say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For this began the inevitable downward spiral. Down to a world made of my own gross stupidity, medical ignorance and complete inability to listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It hit me that night. The post-vaccine funk. The aches and chills. Now, I don\u2019t exactly know what it would feel like to try and stop a speeding semi, but I imagine it\u2019s pretty similar to his. Just fewer chills and more chrome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I tossed and turned in my sleep as the boa constrictor squeezed. I wrapped myself up like an Eskimo trying to ward off a winter onslaught. Strange dreams crept over me. Dancing bears. Clowns with running makeup. A posse of cowboys. All singing: \u201cListen to your wife. Listen to your wife. If there\u2019s one thing you do, better listen to your wife.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next day, it all started to fade away. I was quickly back to normal. I guess my immune system sorted it out, learned what it needed to from the vaccine. Gave some orders and got the defenses up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They say if you have a tough-go of the vaccine, that means your immune system is firing up properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I\u2019m not sure that\u2019s what they \u201csay.\u201d Because clearly I\u2019m not a very good listener. I strive to be, though. And to take advice from my wife. She\u2019s always spot-on and knows her stuff. Maybe I\u2019ll try taking it easy once in a while. Maybe \u2026 or at least right after I go on this run.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When will I learn to listen? Not only recognize when wisdom presents itself to me, but also to learn from it. Act upon it. <\/p>\n
And when my wife tells me something, just dang-well do it!<\/p>\n
Example A: My recent COVID booster shot. It wasn\u2019t getting the shot that was the issue. That was no problem, and I did it of my own free will. When I learned that anyone who had received Johnson and Johnson\u2019s vaccine more than 2 months ago was eligible not only for a booster, but could now mix-and-match with the shot of their choosing, I did some research, settled on Moderna and went off to get my
\njab. <\/p>\n
Pat on the back. Nicely done. I\u2019m all done \u2026<\/p>\n
Except for the advice given: \u201cOK, now remember, you don\u2019t know how your immune system will react afterward,\u201d my wife said. \u201cSo, you need to drink lots of fluids, rest and take it easy.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[578,577,574,566],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2021-nutshells","category-coronavirus","category-health","category-marriage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2317"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2318,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317\/revisions\/2318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}