Pneumonia has a positive side effect. Between this and the flu, I have lost 8 pounds in the last 3 weeks. I have posted another Millie picture above because her face is so expressive for showing the mood I'm in. I am so weak it shocks me. I have never lost weight when sick, but food is just not on my agenda. I don't feel up to eating and am too weak to make the effort. I'm being good about fluids.

My sister nagged me into calling her friend who is a nurse / professor. It is nice to talk to a friend with medical knowledge because they don't say things like "do what you can do and get a lot of rest." A friend says "Stop trying to do everything. You are going to get worse if you don't get more rest. You have to take the week off, there is not question about it." It is hard to let me brothers and Dad down at work, but I really do have to take this time to heal. I don't remember ever being this sick. It is hard to breath and that is just exhausting. Mary said this was normal for pneumonia and that the only solution is more rest and hot liquids to help break things up. It was really comforting to have her take the MOM kind of stand.

Without my Mom it is hard to stand up and say I need to take time to get better. My Mom would have been over here with the chicken soup in a heart beat. She'd have taken my kids to the movies to keep them out of my hair so I could rest. My husband is trying, but he is working like a dog right now with the construction season kicking into high gear before the ground is frozen. I understand why he has to work, but it is really hard to manage right now -- I can't take care of me let alone them.

Back to bed for me now. I still look at this illness as a blessing -- I needed to slow down and now I have to.