"Man colds"...

Last week my brother`s fiancee and I were e-mailing and she commented that my brother had been sick with a "man cold" all week and it was driving her insane. I know I don`t need to explain this turn of phrase but just in case, a "man cold" is where the cold that the man is suffering from is 10 times worse than any cold than anybody else has ever experienced and the whole world must stop to tend to his needs. Women don`t get "man colds" because we either don`t have the time (in the case of most mothers) or we just don`t have the inclination to whine about small aches and pains because we have been through much worse (be it childbirth, period pains, morning sickness etc...) I am sure every woman reading my blog is nodding their heads right now as "man colds" have affected us all at some point or another!!! My husband came down with a "man cold" today. He has no discernible symptoms, (in fact, of the two of us, you would think that I was the sick one because I have a cough, stuffed up nose and my voice is very husky thanks to a sore throat) but you would think he was dying to hear him complain and feel sorry for himself. He was supposed to be looking after Joey today while I went to work but this morning he was lolling around on his futon complaining about how terrible he felt (again, I repeat that he looks fine, sounds fine but is terribly sick apparently) so rather than submit Joey to several hours with Mr whiney cranky pants, I called J`s daycare and asked them if he could go today as well and they were more than happy to have him while I went to work. I hasten to add that Joey is still not over his cold but seems to be soldiering on without too many problems, the cold seems to have gone from his eyes to his chest now though and I am hoping he doesn`t get the same wheezy thing that he had last year! But, I digress, I have basically spent all day running around after my husband and I guess I am feeling cranky and unsympathetic as a result. I guess I am still pissed at him for going on about how tired he was after his trip over the weekend when all he had done was go ski-ing and go to Disneyland whereas I had been home with a sick child and was very sick myself so when he came back, I wanted to take a break but didn`t get to do so because "he" needed a break. I am pandering to his needs very begrudgingly today as I need him to be "healthy" enough to look after J when I go and renew my license tomorrow. Fingers crossed the "man cold" will be banished from our house by tomorrow morning... (PS, I should add that I am sure that there are men who don`t get "man colds" and only complain when they are really sick but I have yet to come across one. I am trying to train Joey to be one though!!)