Since last Friday, until this day (Tuesday) I am still sick with an ordinary seasonal flu. This time in particular, it has hit me hard. Since I was infected, I have been practically in bed. At one point I even thought it was some variant of Covid, but I had no fever or muscle aches at all, just the flu. Curiously, this virus left me in bed when I had planned to go to the beach to celebrate my birthday?
It has been very bitter and long days. I left my daughter at my parents' house. I did not want her to catch it. I was practically alone by choice. My boyfriend and friends offered to be by my side, but it would have been practically in vain.... Why? Well, because most of the time I was asleep, in bed, or taking extended breaks. I watched some movies and series I had in mind and in a couple of naps I held, and after hours of contemplation in the evenings of loneliness and sickness, I came up with the idea of writing about that process....
I also realized that many of the things in our homes can be put to good use. In my case, I wanted to (or could, due to illness) take some photographs of everyday objects and moments. The light made the everydayness of certain objects to be captured in a different way. Also, the stillness and peace that only solitude by choice offers, is something that can either amaze or overwhelm you. Suddenly, a home that was all bustle and the smell of childhood, became a quiet, somewhat cold and strangely spacious place.
I had episodes filled with some angst. I don't know if it's age or the accumulation of stress, but I honestly didn't remember a simple common flu affecting me so much. The first 2 days were almost eternal.... The headache, the general malaise and especially the runny nose clouded my ability to react. Oh no, terrible, the truth.... I don't think I have ever written about my experience, in the first person, my own experience of being sick.
Perhaps, it has not been the most incredible and transformative experience of all, but unfortunately this is also part of the weekends.... However, I have been able to take some pictures that, in my opinion, capture very well two aspects: everyday life and loneliness. I don't know if with sadness, I don't think so, but with relative normality? All this that you have read in this post, is one day before my 31st birthday... Yes, but that will be another post coming soon that I hope you can read as well. Thanks for making it this far, and I hope your weekend was better than mine, haha.
We all get sick at some point in our lives, how often do we document it? I would say never, or almost never.... Also, this experience between loneliness, casual photography and illness appealed to me from a descriptive point of view. Thanks for reading me (once again), and yes, the photos are of my authorship.
