The Megastore Recommends: Sick Day Edition.

Sure, go ahead and bust it out, finish that epic swath of student conferences and come home late, fall on the bed, breathe, whatnot. Go ahead, think I only have to make beans and brussels sprouts to take to Thanksgiving. Go ahead, ignore that little sniffle that hangs on like a bad thought, like a nagging, insistent pop song. Just wait. By the end of the beautiful, family-filled night, it'll just be you and your sinuses driving home, and you'll be all mucinex mucinex mucinex, like it's the most beautiful line of dactylic trimeter you ever did sing/sniff.

Well, come the next day, you're going to need a few recommendations, and I'm here to give 'em to you.

1. Accept that the bed is your destiny. Sure, you might think, hey, I don't feel so dang bad when you're still horizontal and the day is young. And you might sit up and let all that sinus action sort itself out. And walk tentatively into the kitchen, and make oatmeal.

But then? Well, it's time to go back to bed, you and your Mucinex, because you're achey and a little sniffy and by golly it feels a little chilly out there in the world, outside the blankets. So lie down again. It's okay.

2. Accept the dog as your nurse. Sure, he doesn't actually do things like get you a glass of water or bring you that magazine or adjust the covers or remind you when it's time to take the next dose of Mucinex. But he does lie down on the bed beside you, and he sighs when you sigh, and when the magazine falls from your hand and you slip into sick-sleep, he is right there with you. Dog-accompanied sick-sleep just may be more restful than regular sick-sleep. Actually, we have a trial for this going on. I'll let you know our findings.



3. Soup. Soup is the answer.

No: Soup is The Answer. That's better.

We ventured out at the end of the day to our local Indian restaurant, where they brought us complimentary saag shorba, and it soothed our souls, and also my sick.

4. Don't bother being aspirational. That's the medicine talking right there. No, you can't sort through your sweaters. Or revise your manuscript. Or grade, really. Pretty much all you're good for is clicking through the channels and maybe finding something on Netflix. Truthfully? what you're really good for is watching something you've watched a million times before. When you're sick, the familiar jokes and anticipating the good parts of something you've watched a million times before is remarkably fulfilling. A cure for what ails you? it just might be.