Since last Friday until today Wednesday I am still sick with a regular, run of the mill seasonal flu. This time it hit me hard. From the moment I got infected, I was practically in bed. At one point I even thought it might be some kind of Covid variant, but I had no fever or muscle aches, just the flu. Ironically, this virus knocked me down right when I had planned to go to the beach to celebrate my birthday...
They have been very bitter and long days. I left my daughter at my parents’ house. I did not want her to get sick. I was practically alone by choice. My boyfriend and friends offered to stay by my side, but it would have been almost pointless... Why? Well, because most of the time I was asleep, in bed, or taking long breaks. I watched some movies and series I had been meaning to see and during a couple of naps I took, and after hours of contemplation in those afternoons of solitude and sickness, the idea of writing about that process came to me...
I also realized that you can get something out of many of the things we have in our homes. In my case, I wanted to or was able to, because of the illness, take some photographs of everyday objects and moments. The light made the ordinariness of certain objects be captured in a different way. Besides, the stillness and the peace that only solitude by choice offers is something that can amaze you or overwhelm you. Suddenly, a home that used to be all noise and the smell of childhood turned into a quiet place, somewhat cold and strangely spacious.
I had episodes filled with a certain anxiety. I do not know if it is age or the buildup of stress, but honestly I did not remember a simple common flu affecting me this much. The first two days were almost endless... The headache, the overall discomfort and especially the runny nose clouded my ability to react. Oh no, it was awful, honestly.... I think I had never written recounting my experience, in first person, my own experience of being sick.
Maybe it has not been the most incredible and transformative experience of all, but unfortunately this is also part of weekends... Still, I was able to take some photographs that, in my opinion, capture very well two aspects: everyday life and solitude. I do not know if with sadness, I do not think so, but yes with relative normality... Everything you have read in this post is one day before my thirty first birthday... Yes, but that will be another post coming soon and that I hope you can read too. Thank you for making it this far, and I hope your weekend was better than mine, haha.
