03-11-11 Column

Kansas Snapshots by Gloria Freeland - March 11, 2011

Just do something - even if it's wrong

I haven't been very motivated the past few weeks. Oh, I go through the motions - but somehow I haven't been able to muster the enthusiasm I normally have to get things done.

It's not unusual for me to take awhile to recover from the rush-rush of the end-of-the-year holidays and this year involved a bit more than some. Mid-December, husband Art and I spent a week in Chicago. Before returning home, we picked up our German "daughter" and "son" from the airport so they could spend the holidays with us in Kansas. A couple of days after Christmas, we were on the road to Wisconsin to share a New Year's Eve get-together with some of Art's relatives.

After all the traveling, I was eager to get back into the swing of things at work and at home. It was the start of a fresh semester at Kansas State University and I was ready.

Or so I thought!

The day after we got home from Kansas, I woke up with a severe sore throat and my body ached from one end to the other. Oh-oh! Bit by the flu bug.

I passed the next several days in bed. By the following week, I was finally able to spend a few hours in the office. Classes began shortly after mid-January, and I was ready to take on the world.

But just as I was getting into the swing of things, winter snowstorms moved through with a vengeance. Riley County High School, which youngest daughter Katie attends, had several snow days in January and February. Even K-State, which rarely closes, did so Feb. 1 and 2. The two days off, although a nice respite, put a real kink in my schedule.

But I rearranged assignments and once again felt like I was back on track.

That lasted about two weeks. Art came down with a cold and I thought, "Uh-oh, here we go again!"

But by some miracle, I stayed well - for a few days.

Last week, I developed a sore throat and a cough. This time, I coughed so hard I wrenched my back. Art had a different theory ... that the virus settled in my back. I suppose that is possible as he briefly had a sore back as well.

Whatever it was, every time I coughed or sneezed, I had back spasms.

By the weekend, I was better. Still, I had NO desire to do anything.

Then something my late mother-in-law Rita used to say came to mind.

When she was feeling down or not quite up to par, she would say, "I'm going to do something - even if it's wrong."

To her, that might have meant shopping or eating out or visiting family. But whatever it was she chose to do, she often felt better afterward.

I decided to give it a try.

About noon, Katie and I went to town and met Art. The three of us went to campus, where Katie had vocal auditions. Afterward, we went to Pizza Hut - Katie's choice for a late lunch.

It wasn't a very exciting "something." But I must admit it did pick up my spirits. The sun and warmer temperatures didn't hurt any either.

Thanks, Rita. I did do something - and it was right!