A Poll: Whiners vs. Non-Whiners

It's the plague. I'm sure of it. Or, I guess it could be just a really, really, bad cold. But, it's definitely one or the other. Or, it might, I suppose, be a sinus thing. Missed an important meeting this morning because, in my fevered, stuffy nosed stupor I THOUGHT I had set the alarm (which consists of leaving little yellow sticky notes on the bathroom mirror for the husband - he's my alarm, you see), but turns out I hadn't.

I'm one of those people who whine and crave lots of attention and sympathy when I'm sick. I want to snuggle and be cooed over, and have someone say "Oh, you poor thing" ...sort of like my mom used to when I was little. And, not so little. In my mid 30's when I was sick, I would call her just to hear her say that. I know, it sounds silly, but for some reason, it seemed to help. She died 5 years ago, so I haven't heard those words in quite some time...and never will again, doggoneit.

As luck would have it, I married a man who almost NEVER gets sick and who simply does not understand those who do. He actually admitted one time that sickness in others (namely, me) pisses him off and makes him feel uncomfortable - because it sort of implies weakness. Now, ordinarily, the husband is a sweet, sensitive, gentle and kindly man. But, when I'm sick, he tunes out and would rather be just about anywhere than around me. Where normally he will do little sweet things for me, like refill my coffee cup when he's refilling his, or offer to get me something while he's up, or fix me dinner when he knows I've had a hard day - at the first sign of ill health (mine), he suddenly becomes the stereotypical neanderthalish male and all those sweet little gestures go out the window. I, of course, respond by becoming even more of a whining pain in the ass than I would otherwise be. Ah well.

See? I'm even doing it here. All morose and "woe is me" - whine, whine, whine.

This makes me wonder...which side outnumbers the other? Or, are we about evenly divided when it comes to behavior when sick? So, c'mon - When sick, are you prone to whining and craving coddling, or are you the non-whining just-want-to-be-left-alone sort?

(secretly, I'm really hoping the whiners win)