Missed you, dear reader, for Valentines Day. Our family has been under the weather. A brief update, today, and the regular edition will be back next week.
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse
“Saturday Night Fever”
It is Day 9 of the flu and Jean-Marc (who is on Day 12) has returned to our matrimonial bed after sleeping downstairs. It is early morning and we are having “coffee and complaints”—astounded at how we can still be coughing up “liquid” after a fortnight.
“Liquid”…I’m trying to put it in nice terms but my husband has a vocabulary of his own.
“Putain! C’est une merde ce truc!” he says, blowing his nose like a trumpet. He is a very noisy patient but then I’m no purring kitten either, when ill.
As Jean-Marc settles into the news I decide to research “ce truc” we’re coughing up. Soon, I am learning all about the benefits of what the French call “la glaire.”
“If your body is a nightclub, mucus is a bouncer!” I share the nerdy article I’m reading with JM. Suddenly my husband begins to jiggle. His hand flies up in a John Travolta air jab, up to the right, down to the left. I follow suit and the two of us are sitting up in bed dancing.
“Do you understand the words?” I ask, to be sure. “If your body is a nightclub, mucus is the bouncer...”
“Oui, oui!” JM insists, jabbing the air. “Si ton corps est une boîte de nuit, la glaire c’est le DJ….”
”No! A bouncer not a DJ! Are you listening to me? The mucus kicks the bad guys out of the club!”
“Have you ever been kicked out of a nightclub?” Jean-Marc smiles at me.
“No! And you?”
“Not that I remember…” my husband says, coughing once again. Only this time we’re not complaining. Our former negativity has turned to jubilee as, side by side in bed, we jab the air a few more times à la John Travolta, pointing up to the right, down to the left. We have made peace with our “productive” coughs and learned a little about our bodies in the process. I have a new respect for that old flemmy foe, from now on known as “Bouncer M.” And it’s put a new spin on the flu or how I think about.
Why not think of it as disco fever? Off to let my body rock. See you next week with more photos and stories from France. Take care and, whatever your circumstances, keep looking on the bright side!
Amicalement,
Kristi
P.S. JM recommends a nose gargle. He has returned from the seashore with a liter of salt water. I think I’ll pull the covers over my head instead!
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Nose gargles are helpful, just boil that water first.
Do you not have Paxlovid in France? When I got covid ( we all will have it at least once of not more ), I went immediately on Paxlovid and I was fine after two days…
Feel better!
Bon recuperation Kristi, actual flu is a very exhausting infection and I was absolutely knackered as a very healthy and active 25 year old, when I got it – it took about a month to full recovery and for several weeks felt like I was inhabited by aliens! Don’t try to do too much too quickly though and beware of lifting heavy items or doing heavy work before you are approx 6 weeks in recovery, as its the prime time to have injuries to the back. Your energy and fitness will return with the springtime and you’ll be ready t enjoy the beautiful south of France Maytime – my fav month with al the wild flowers and everything so fresh and new. Once again, Bon Recuperation,
Amicaliment,
Lorraine
Very cute post, Kristi! Hope you and Jean-Marc are back in your dancing shoes soon!
Why not get a flu shot every fall? Then you will never get the flu!
C. Clark, LA, CA
I suggest a warm salt water throat gargle also, it cuts that nasty phlegm! I finally got attacked by Covid a couple of months ago, and it felt exactly like the flu, sore joints and all…I’m assuming you tested yourselves…it took me 10 days to test negative, and 3 weeks to stop coughing, all this with shots and boosters, ugh! Feel better, and thanks for the good advice to always look on the bright side, considering what the world is going through almost everywhere…
Hi Kristi,
I hope you and JM are feeling better soon! We are just getting over about 2 weeks of what we call “the crud”
Take care,
Eileen
A flu shot is good insurance but no guarantee. For one thing, the vaccines are a best advance guess as to what the virus will be each year. If a vaccine doesn’t match the circulating virus, it won’t work.
Hello Kristi,
I hope that you and Jean Marc feel better soon. Unfortunately I am a person who blows her nose at least 20 times a day and has post nasal drip, so I know somewhat of what you are speaking. But I don’t get tired and feel sore all over. Take care and soon you will be dancing in the streets or on the beach.
Yes, we are ½ through the winter, so look on the bright side of things, such as flower popping their tines heads up and growing strong to eventually going into full bloom. Yeah to spring!!!
I’m enjoying some warm weather in Mexico for another 3 days.
Peace, Kathleen
Hah hah hah hah stayin aliiiiivvve…. Too funny. I’m working on a recipe for garlic soup. No microbes or vampires to date. You just have to plan social contact carefully. Feel better!!!
Adorable! A shared sense of good humor is the secret to a happy marriage.
Bon rétablissement !
Feel better soon! 💝
Oh, I swear by the saline nasal wash! I was in desperate need of some for a sinus ache while in Paris once and went to the pharmacie to buy a can of sel de la mer pour mon nez! The pharmacist knew exactly what I meant!!
I hope you both feel better soon! 💃
J-M is right. A neti pot works wonders. Sante!
Ronald Olivet, MD agrees with Rob T. Sinus rinsing with saline solution is helpful. However, there are documented cases of serious brain infections from doing it with bacteria-contaminated water.
Better to use commercially prepared sterile solution available at your pharmacy. Would avoid sea water.
Being able to find humor in your situation is very admirable . Feel better soon and treat yourselves with gentle loving care.
Merci, Docteur!
Haha I think we need a video of you both doing the John Travolta moves…
I’m with Jean-Marc – salt water and a neti pot!
So sorry to read you’re both under the weather!!
This is unconventional…
I don’t drink, but Jack Daniels is my best Bourbon friend when I start to get a sore throat or have phlegm… as a GARGLE, head way back, to the right, to the left, forward, and then letting some go up your nose as you spit it out. Immediate results. Not for the faint of heart because it can sting, but worth it! Good luck!! Any 80 proof will work, but you must act quickly. No germs have a chance of settling in. Nips everything in the bud. No swallowing allowed! Maybe a trickle… 😉
🔥🙏😄
Love it! Can really picture you two! I hope the sun shines brightly and no more dark moments. A bad cold, the flu, bronchitis-it all stinks and takes over not just our body but our mind and emotions. You guys have the right cure, fun, attitude-at least that helps a lot!! John Travolta would be proud!
My apologies for waxing philosophical, Kristin, but . . . Ces mots ont attribué à Lao-Tzu: “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” Quelques mots pour vous deux parce qu’on a récemment fait la fête du Jour de la Saint-Valentin.
Mes meilleurs souhaits pour votre bonne santé.
So very sorry to learn that you and Jean Marc have been ill with the flu. I hope that you are over the worst of it!
This evening I will raise my glass (of water) to the return of your good health. Look for signs of Spring which will always lift your spirits. My best wishes …
My empathy with you – flu is a miserable period to live through. Be gentle with yourself. I think you made a great start with your change in attitude towards the experience. Thank you for sharing. I’ll remember the Travolta move, too.
Carolyn
Moi aussi
Covid and the flu sont differents 🙂 Paxlovid est pour traiter le Covid.
Bon courage et bon santé, Kristi et Jean Marc. Je suis désolée que vous ayez la grippe! Rappelez, le rire est le meilleur remède !
Thank you, Jeanine. Humor definitely helps, as do all these lovely notes from readers. Feeling so much better this morning. Merci!
I think a bouncer is un videur. Bon rétablissement!
Cute story and encouraging as I am just getting over a long week of coughing as well. Get well soon!!!
Je l’aime.
Dear Kristin,
I loved your disco moves. It made me laugh out loud and then try it out where no one could see me. My husband, Lance, would have laughed at my dancing! Lance is a firm believer in the Neti pot, said Jean-Marc knows what works! I tried it once and felt like I was drowning. So glad you are both feeling better and laughing together!
Bisous,
Linda Karber
I’m late getting to this because I was preparing to leave for France. However, I fully sympathize with you and JM. This winter I had a cold that would not leave. That is, even after all the sneezing and fatigue left, I still had the post-nasal drip and stuffed nose that went on and on. Saline solutions are good, but I agree with those who said make sure it is a sterile solution so no new (or dangerous) bacteria enter the system. Lots of chicken soup. Lots of water throughout the day. I hope you’re up and moving by now.
Love this beautiful description of the joy that can be found in marriage even when going through difficulties.
……So sorry to hear you both are ailing from ‘le flu’. The lingering cough is the worst and can seem to last forever. Got any strong pastilles pour la tousse? I used to eat Vicks cough drops 24/7. We have been lucky and not had covid or any flu this year and we are both 82! I am , however, battling Multiple Myeloma, since Dec. 2 and hope to obliterate the cancer cells in my bone marrow which are causing all the trouble! Gerry has been my 200% support system since the onset and we are grateful for each day together. Get well both of you and never give up! Love each other as if it was your last day together….. Bonne semaine and get well fast…. Judi Dunn, Tallahassee. PS. I have missed your writing…
Kristi, hope you and JeanMarc are already well! Mon épouse et moi are still dealing with a lingering cough and “ le truc”! We have also had “ the flu” (? Don’t think Covid again?)
Still enjoying your Days in a French Life after many years.
Merci beaucoup pour la joie keeping une petite langue de français dans ma tête!!!
Leslie Gudermuth
Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA
A neti pot and saline solution are so effective in clearing sinuses and nostrils without drugs! An nor-so-pleasant 30 seconds for a peaceful sleep!