Last week was ugly. There is no other way to say it. It all started last Saturday after I had a dental cleaning. Near as I can tell being exposed to the strange instruments caused germs to implant. I’m sure it was the dentist because the whole time I was sick my gums ached. Next thing I know I’m traipsing around NYC in the cold, wind, and rain with a nasty sore throat that soon blossomed into a nastier viral throat infection and fever. I lost my voice. Had to leave early. Was contagious so I couldn’t be around other humans…and to top it off my Blackberry stopped working due to storage limit issues (Sorry Stephen I lost your cell # and couldn't text you back!) and then back in Connecticut I lost my home internet connection to the world. Charter sucks. Talk about feeling isolated. Until laryngitis I never realized how much I take it for granted just being able to have a conversation with someone. You miss it when you can’t. Without a voice I felt trapped and suffocated. I was a mute for 3 days…and sans email or text. It was like I was screaming on the inside on the top of my lungs but nobody else could hear me….except for Pugsley but he was too busy begging for treats. He is selfish like that.

The rest of the week was a blur of Vicks cherry flavored cough drops and vaporizer rub dabbed under the nose and smeared on the neck to open up sinus cavities. Blue fuzzy wool blankets to keep warm during the chills and kick off during sweats, and after three boxes of tissues I can now confirm that Kleenex really is better than the generic brand. Less Chaffing. Tylenol every 4-6 hours until I surpassed the amount you can have in a 24 hour period. Then it was onto the Nyquil and vitamins until mid week when I graduated to Tylenol Cold Multi symptom Day and Night packs. The Collection of DVD’s that I like to watch when I’m sick provided some comfort; The English Patient, Thorn Birds miniseries, Little Women, Mighty Joe Young, and Wizard of Oz. On TV it was mindless flipping through Oprah, Dr. Phil, and random shows like Man vs. Wild and the Secret Life of Otters. My pink and white flannel sheep pajamas, fluffy red robe, toast with cinnamon, and blueberry tea with honey provided comfort, too.. The puke pot and spit buckets are also essential staples in times of infirmity. They allow you to expel the pestilent matter from your body without the constant annoyance of having to get up to run to the bathroom every 2 minutes.
Note to self: next time do not leave spit bucket within reach of curious pug or he will wait til you’re in the other room then secretly stick head in bucket and lap up the phlegm before you can stop him.

I told you it was ugly.