Once upon a time, my whole family fell ill for two full weeks.

We needed to lay around and groan, when we weren't coughing, and could only look out at the gorgeous sunshine, knowing how marvellous it would be to climb a mountain, or just take a long stroll outside...even a short stroll.

Then it rained, and the roof leaked, with the drips falling right onto my arm where I lay sighing on the couch. Now we are all well enough to head straight back to school and work. The end.

READ MORE: Meet the Wimmera artist enjoying the connective side of art

This wasn't exactly the kind of 'break' we were looking forward to, but I feel sure it could have been far worse.

My sister was sick and locked down with two sick tweens and a sick teen in a house partly renovated. All the furniture was out of place and the kids were sleeping on the floor.

One of her friends had a child start throwing-up during the family's long-awaited flight to Queensland, and then they were forced to lockdown in a family member's home.

Okay, I'm actually feeling pretty darn lucky.

MUST READ: Where to attend ANZAC Day services across the Wimmera

Of course, many people are dealing with real disasters, terminal illness and loss, so I truly can put our 'bummer' of a vacation into its proper perspective.

And anyway, I bet our immune systems are ready for anything now, bring it on!

I think the way we went about it, with each family member contributing a different virus to the mix, means we multiplied our immune system's fitness by far.

We each worked our way through our own virus, then picked up a close family member's version and waded our way through that, until we filled up the full 17 days, arriving at the end with a whole new appreciation for our physical wellbeing.

Poor Daddy didn't bring his own virus though, he just inhaled a cocktail of ours and went down like a ton of bricks.

COUNCIL: LGBTIQ group disappointed with Wimmera mayor's comments

Seeing such a strong man puffed after bringing in one wheelbarrow of wood was a bit of a shock.

He claimed that washing his ute nearly finished him off. This certainly made me appreciate his usual good health and boundless energy.

I'm glad things are looking up.

Our team works hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: