Been a tough week here. Saw the doc on Tuesday and he put me through the whole sinusitis regimen of daily saline washes, nasal steroids, decongestants, mucous thinners, and of course, antibiotics. I've taken clarithromycin before, but this time it just seems to be tearing up my guts, giving me heartburn and a sour stomach. Interestingly enough, the times I took it before it was the real pharmaceutical company deal, but it's now available in a generic form. Never had the gut problems with the original, but the generic copy is not sitting well. Just something to think about when people say there's no difference.
Oh, and the drug makes you think a possum crawled into your mouth and died—two weeks ago. Yuck! Oh well, that's what you get when you live in Sinusitis Central here in SW Ohio. Doesn't matter if it's the city or the country around here, it's just hard on people. When I lived in California I never met a single person who complained about sinus problems, but here it's rare to meet someone who doesn't have that puffy look around the eyes. C'est la vie!
So your prayers are still appreciated in that regard. I can't remember being so rundown. Wisdom may come with aging, but so does the realization that the eighteen-year old guy with the chip on his shoulder could probably take you down pretty easily now. Ten years ago would have been a different issue, but I know that I hit the wall hard at 41. Forty was okay and I thought I was in the clear, but something changed at 41. Weird stuff, man.
Treasure your youth! Travel the world and get out of town. See the sights while you're young. Once kids come around and your sleep becomes precious, well it's a whole 'nother ballgame.
Then, of course, there's the other way of thinking: marry young, have kids young, empty nest by forty and then do the sightseeing. The nineteen year-old from our church who comes in once a week to help get the laundry and household in tip-top shape for the weekend told me late last year that her dad had a birthday. When I asked how old he was, she said, "Forty." So her dad's younger than me, which makes me old enough to have a nineteen year old daughter. With the three years I've got on him, I could have a 22-year old daughter for that matter. My five-year old son throws my thinking off kilter, I guess. Realizing you're old enough to have a kid out of college already really messes with your head.
My gauge used to be that I was not old as long as there were guys my age still playing football. This last birthday may have sealed my fate on that one, though. I think Warren Moon was still in the league at my age, but none of the guys today are that ancient.
Am I whining? It's 2:30 AM as I type and the decongestants got every nerve in my body wired. Sleep ain't comin' anytime soon. And here I am thinking that Cerulean Sanctum reaches its nadir with this post, folks.
Well, look at it this way: it can only get better, right?
May the Lord grant that all of us be better people next week (and into the future) than we are now. I know I'm counting on that. Maybe wisdom at the expense of a few aching body parts isn't so bad.
Have a great weekend!
Tags: Illness, Age, Kids, Youth
Now add closing on a house, renovation, and painting, and repairing a fence all before the superbowl (and being sick means the smell of paint is making me sick)… and you have my next week…. Man I sure hope you start feeling better… I’m fighting the same thing (stop sending that breeze up here!)… the whole Miami Valley is sniffling… can you hear it? *sigh*… Weird thing is God has so majorly blessed us and put us where He wants us and I so want to be joyous about this… but I’m too tired! LOL
Blessings and clear breathing brother.
Dan —
Funny enough – I too hit the wall at 41 (which was years ago); diagnosed with diabetes and overweight; lost the weight but not the diabetes!
Anyway, there are many wonderful things about getting older as well — it is sometimes harder to see in a country that WORSHIPS youth.
For one: we actually do start to develop that intangible gift of wisdom (I know some smart-alecky young guys who were born with it!). unfortunately, this is often due to the fact that we have made every mistake in the book, and it should really be called ‘experience, as opposed to ‘wisdom’, but hey, l;et’s use the high-dollar word for it, OK?
Second: I have heard that grandchildren are a joy that rivals children.
Third: Here’s my post on elders.
🙂
Hope you feel better soon my friend!
“May the Lord grant that all of us be better people next week (and into the future) than we are now. I know I’m counting on that. Maybe wisdom at the expense of a few aching body parts isn’t so bad.”
Dan, I think King David would agree with you on this one…and so would I, at the ripe old age of 34!
Psalm 119:71 (ESV), “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.”
Hang in there…we’re praying for you!
“And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated” (Deuteronomy 34:7).
My pastor is in his fifties with six children, and the youngest is ten. He could still take on young punks if necessary. I am thirty and unmarried! Whah!
Yikes! Sorry to hear you’re dealing with all that. Sickness is a pain… I’ve prayed for you, and I’m putting you on a list now. (Yeah, I’m actually going to try and keep a prayer list!)
Meanwhile, on a lighter note… my mom just had her 42nd birthday, my dad is 41, and my daughter will be celebrating her third birthday in a few months.
So you could actually be your son’s granddad! 😉
[[And with that, Travis runs screaming. Good thing Dan’s sick; Travis might just get away…]]
Dan, you named just about every single product I bought on Wed. and I live in SoCal. It’s allergies, baby. And I hardly know a person who doesn’t suffer from it at one time of the year or other. My worst season just happens to be in the winter—it’s a tree thing.
But let me also clue you … when you’re feeling all sick and sleepless is no time to start thinking about age and, well felling aged.
Enjoy life to the max. Pray God’s mercy when you’re at a low point. And read a good book about Christian martyrs. It’s an amazing reality check.
Becky
Dan,
Wait until you reach 60….:)
Seriously, I hope you feel better really soon.
Diane
Here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore (the part that’s conjoined with Delaware), you’re never more than 45 min. or so from either the Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay or Atlantic Ocean, not to mention dank saltwater estuaries and marshes. Persons who have never had sinus or allergy-type symptoms in their lives develop them when they move here. And I know from experience how miserable the headaches, lethargy, etc. can be. Hang in there.
As for the age aspect, I’ve lost the paperwork now, but I’m sure my body’s warranty expired about age 42. That’s when unexplained aches and pains started appearing, the waistband on my pants developed a permanent rollover and I started to resent that expression, “you’re only as old as you feel.”
Dan, I’m a few years older than you, and I have a younger cousin who’s already a grandfather! On the other hand, I’ve never married and have no kids, so I frequently find myself wondering if it would be a good idea to bring a child into the world should I ever marry.
One reason I say that is like so many others in their 40’s, I’ve struggled in recent years with a variety of ailments and even some chronic health issues. I’m also finding that I don’t spring back as quickly as I used to from illnesses. For example, I developed a cold in late November that morphed into a sinus infection which eventually required antibiotics. I was sick for two weeks and needed another week after that to regain my strength.
On the other hand, the average American life expectancy at the turn of the 20th century was 45. At the turn of the 21st century, it was 78. So as difficult as these ailments can be, I thank God that we can survive them much better than we used to.