I Am Tended.

I was tired all last week.  Straight through, day after day...just wiped out.  It makes sense, given this year's schedule but still seemed kind of extreme.  By Thursday, I could barely keep my head up to watch the last of the kidlets who take the last bus run.  I kind of had a feeling by then.

Friday clinched it for me.  The kids had earned a movie and I used the time to do paperwork and prep the Cheerful Teaching Assistant for my absence on Monday.  I like to think I did it all very well, but maybe I'm giving myself too much credit given the conversation the CTA and I had at day's end.

Ms. Sheep:  Um...I think I maybe don't feel so good.  Maybe...


Cheerful Teaching Assistant:  Gee, you think?  You've been coughing all day and have gotten so spacey.


She amended that last part upon seeing my face.  I suppose I was hoping I'd managed to hide my growing exhaustion and overall feelings of blech.  I stopped her half-way through her hasty No Offense Intended speech.  She was right.  I was sick and it showed.

By yesterday, I was in full-fledged illness mode.  I was sneezing like I was trying to expel demons and my nasal passages swelled shut by noon.  This was not fun, but delightful when compared to the cough. Coughing hurt.  I was a sight to behold and it seemed best that I refrain from forcing others to take part in that beholding.  I cancelled my appointment with The World's Greatest Stylist And Life Coach and stayed in for the day.

This morning, the cough had loosened up enough that I was no longer gasping very bad words each time I hacked. I was able to stumble out to the grocery store for OTC cold medications suitable for daytime administration and cough drops.  I also treated myself to some brand name tissues because this is no time to be pinching pennies.  I am unwell, for God's sake!

And if you are thinking that I might be the most overly dramatic person to ever face the common cold, you are not wrong.  I pity the poor people who were subjected to my Facebook feed yesterday...

It was not all gloom and snuffly doom, though.  I learned something new while I was moaning and groaning on the couch.  (I can moan and groan like nobody's business, thank you very much)  Apparently, there is a nurse living right here in the manse and I never so much as suspected it.

The Very Complicated Kitty came with a lengthy resume and it's possible that I missed his having completed a nursing degree what with all the other stuff in there.  I don't think so, though.  I believe he just failed to mention it.  Maybe he's modest or something.  Maybe he got teased by the other boys because male nurses are still something of a oddity even in this modern age.  Whatever the reason, he kept it to himself.

Neither the Absurdly Gi-normous Kitty nor his brother are lap cats.  They are affectionate and good natured when it comes to being picked up or petted.  But they aren't the types to spontaneously go for the lap.  They just like hanging out with me.  Hence, you can imagine my surprise when the VCK suddenly became so attentive.  He's snuggled and cuddled and kept my feet warm for me all weekend.  Sometimes I kind of wished for a little more space or a free hand to knit with, but I didn't have the heart to tell him that.  Clearly, his training was taking over and I don't think he would have taken kindly to my resisting his ministrations.  Sometimes, you just need to lie still and let the medical professionals do their jobs.

I have consulted with him regarding returning to work tomorrow and he's giving it some consideration.  Frankly, I'm not so good with doctor's orders and am going anyway.  I have Safety Procedures training all day and it's not the sort of thing I can miss.  The fact that my sinuses hurt all the way down to my jaw and are given to spontaneous fluid emissions is something everyone is going to have to live with.  I gotta do this.

For tonight, though, I'll just sit still on the couch with a tissue wadded in my right nostril and a feline nurse monitoring the situation from my lap.  It's the best I can do.  I'm just grateful for having adopted a cat with such an advanced medical education.

Cant talks now. I iz on call.

SA