The Downside of Cool
Back when I was still knee-deep in needy newborns, it was hard to conceive of a day like today. A day that loomed out there, somewhere in a future where children attended school all day and I would have hours upon hours of fulfilling self-reflection and silent contemplation. Well, it’s here. Today is the first day in nine years that I loaded both of my big girls onto the school bus, not to return until 3:00pm. Pass the bon-bons; I’ve got six hours of silent bliss. I will write a novel. I will read all the editorials. I will cook a meal the likes of which gourmets round the world will clamor to taste.
Or I’ll strip every bed and rip up the rugs and douse the entire house in bleach and lemon-scented spray stuff. Anything that will increase my chances of breathing through my nose once again.
Don’t be fooled. These are no ordinary allergies. They laugh in the face of Benadryl, my trusted old friend that typically knocks me out faster than a blow to the head with a falling piano. And the sneezes just keep coming.
My waking hours are spent buried in a box of tissues, and I haven’t slept in days. I swear last night would have been better if someone filled my pillowcase with freshly cut grass and a bag of kittens and then wrapped their fluffy little tails around my eyes as a blindfold.
I have been so busy ooohing and aaahing over the delightfully cool weather and the extra dose of lush rain that I didn’t stop to consider the consequences. Something new is growing out there, and it does not play well with me.
The doctor gave me an appointment for next week, and extracted my sincere promise not to step foot outdoors until then. In the meantime to rid my house of lurking pollen I am dousing every inch with a bottle or two of bleach. Cleaning isn’t really my thing, but if it will buy me an hour or two of snot-free sleep, I’m in. And since I’ve only got a few hours left in this precious gift of a day nine years in the making, I’d better run and dump more bleach into the laundry and see about some dust monsters under the couch.
Yes, these are tears in my eyes. It’s all this sneezing, of course. It’s purely coincidental that this morning I bid farewell to my little darlings as they set out for first and third grade, so big and so grown-up already. Of course my eyes are itchy and red. Allergies or not, that is the price I pay for watching my babies morph into real people right before my very eyes.
11 Replies to “The Downside of Cool”
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Wooo hoooo, first day back to school! Um yeah, I guess men and women are not exactly wired the same.
go to the store and get claritin over the counter and take it NOW. You will get some relief without getting sleepyl. Take it until you see the doctor. Ask about an rx for NASONEX or whatever nasally nebulized steroid he likes. These are very effective and very safe. The amt of steriode is in MICROgrams and the results are right where you need themal not to your whole body.
Good luck. DAD
Hope your allergies get better! We swear by Zyrtec in my house! As for your darling girls, I have no doubt you will find things to occupy your time once you can breathe again! If not, call me and we’ll do lunch to pass the time!
Lisa
Have you tried using the neti pot? See you tonight!
Love the pics, congrats on accomplishing freedom 9 years in the making. Over here in allergy hell (the family farm), we swear by zyrtec, rhinocort/nasonex/astilin, and benedry…hope you breathe better soon 🙂
Funny, I get the same “allergy” symptoms every year on the first day of school! This year it happened twice since the girls started on different days 🙂 Got a cute pic of Kira and Maddie that I’ll pass on – no “allergies” for them!
I had some terrible allergies two years ago that were only fixed by twice daily nasal steroids followed up by zyrtec. Now I take those as preventative measures before allergy season begins… but oy vey! I feel your pain, not sleeping really really sux.
And yeay for kids staring school! 🙂
I hope that you are feeling better and that the girls had a great first day of school!
P.S. Are you sure that you are old enough to have kids starting school? Don’t we have to be back in New Orleans for rush or something?! 🙂
i hate kids for growing up. feel better. 🙂
I second the Zyrtec, which I can bring to your house since you’re not leaving it, and the nasal wash. The nasal sprays work so much better if there’s no gunk in the way. We have one for Ethan that’s like a mini water bottle. You stand over the sink, head down, put the hole up to one nostril, and sqeeze until water comes out the other nostril. Yes, it feels about as awful as it sounds, but, my lord, the stuff that comes out afterward! Ethan’s ENT said he thought 90% of Americans could probably stop using allergy medications if they just washed the allergens out of their noses every night before bed!
Also recommended, a shower (including your hair) before bed. Not only do you remove any allergens from your person, but you keep your pristinely clean bed, pristinely clean!
And here’s a question, will I ever see you again now that you have no reason to ever be at school?
My sister has allergies that sound as bas as your. Her doctor told her to take Zyrtec every day, even if she does not feel bad. It has helped her a lot and now she can go outside and enjoy the gifts that God has given.