If you have read any of the symptoms of COVID, then you know that one is the absence of smells and taste. When I went to see the ear, nose and throat doctor after I was really sick in late January, one of the things I asked is when I would be able to smell and taste again. This might not have bothered everyone, but it was a “biggy” for me. I love smelly things. When home, I always have a candle burning. I use smelly lotion and have way more perfume than I need. This is not a new phenomenon, but something I have enjoyed most of my life.
When something you love is absent, you miss it. This may be the ability to read a book because your eyesight is failing or walk around the block because of the onset of physical conditions that prevent it. There are times when it is something as simple as not finding what you need in the store although the first conditions are a lot more detrimental than the second.
We want to fix what is wrong. When I asked the doctor this question, he looked at me for a moment and simply said, “I don’t know.” You see COVD had not been identified in the states as of yet. It was still in China or at least that is what people thought some months later.
I do not know for a fact that I had this virus, but my general practitioner has said of late that she thinks I may have. I will get tested in time, but regardless, I have learned something.
When we loose a part of ourselves, even for a short time, we grieve. I could light a candle and only feel the flame. I ate because I knew I needed too, not because everything tasted like sawdust. I went through the motions without the same results.
When others are grieving because they too have lost something, the only thing we can often do is sit and listen. I cannot tell you how the text or calls from those who cared helped me feel better. Visits where a friend or family member just sat and visited about nothing, but their presence spoke volumes. Nothing had changed, but I was reminded how I was loved. People cared because they were a part of my inner circle.
I can now smell and taste again, but I am more cognizant on how the loss of a part of you can bring all of you down emotionally. If you do not have an inner circle of support, then try to find other ways to enjoy something. Please do not allow grief or disappointment to drag you into the hole of despair. It is an easy place to slip in to if we are not vigilant.
As I write this, I am frying bacon so I can fix my husband his favorite eggs. A simple act, but now it has so much more meaning. I hope to not loose the appreciation for smells. I also hope not to loose the ability to see and notice how others are grieving because they may have lost a part of themselves they may never get back. My loss seems so minimal compared to theirs, but it does offer me a lesson if I will keep it in mind. What have you learned about a loss you have experienced? How can you use that lesson to bless others?