No one likes to get sick. This includes you, dear reader, and certainly this writer. How men handle illness and how women handle illness provide two interesting and very different approaches.
With men, we see a return to wanting Mommy to make it better. After all, didn't she do just that in days long ago? Unhappily, for many of us, this is no longer possible. Now, to be clear here, when I speak of sickness, I'm thinking about everyday maladies – a bad cold, a touch of flu, nothing truly serious. Granted when it is YOU having to cope with a bad cold, touch of flu, etc. each setback takes on monumental importance.
For men, it starts with facial expressions. Think of the sad-face Bassett hound. Then add a bit of moaning, especially when our wives are within earshot. Pour in a tad of muttering along the lines of “don't worry about me, I'll be alright (pause) eventually.” Being simple souls, that's pretty much it. Just repeat, repeat and repeat.
With women, circumstances are far different. (It is good for men to keep in mind that only women are capable of childbirth with all the pain that accompanies it. They deserve to be honored for this alone.) And not so by the way, when it comes to common illnesses, most women simply carry on come hell, high water, or near-pneumonia. So this leaves us with that atypical +handful who do not. They are the truly memorable ones. Broadway cannot handle the oceans of dramatic tears these few inflict on the rest of us.
Women are emotional by nature, so when routine illness strikes this handful of memorable ladies, it opens up the floodgate of opportunity for full expression. Moans become thunderclaps, gestures reach for the heavens. No avenue is left untrod.
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