emesis

At least once a year I will get the three day flu. The first day will start with a fever and chills; intense sweating, joint and muscle aches, delirium. On the second day the fever continues and then comes stomach pain. It's that second day that I dread so much; I know that I'm going to vomit eventually, and I know from years of experience that I will feel better, but with each stomach pain I twist and squirm and try to hold things down. Then comes the event, (use your imagination) and then subsiding relief until the next build-up. On the third day I am tired and drained but feel so much better. I can manage to watch a TV show or even read a book. Toast and soup sit comfortably in my belly.

I kind of feel like my move to DC has been a drawn out second day of the flu. For the past two years a pain had been building in me. I squirmed and twisted and tried to avoid what needed to come out. But moving here was like drinking a glass of epsom salt and all has come rushing out of me. It's as yucky as I remember these sorts of things being, but I know that soon the pain will no longer be a part of me.

I only wish that you could take a flu shot for life.