Mid Week Update

I've heard from some very reliable sources that this cold will hang around for 3-4 weeks. I am hoping that is not the case because I will go completely crazy in that amount of time. I am feeling a bit better, however. The fever is gone but I am very congested. I just need to keep this from turning into bronchitis and I will be happy.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday I was feeling pretty lousy. Sore throat, fever, chills, my entire head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. I got up from the sofa a few times and felt dizzy. I had no appetite but forced myself to eat the chicken soup I made and I ate it for 2 days. I think it was good...I couldn't taste it and by Saturday I couldn't smell anything either. Today my appetite has come back a little and I was able to taste the food I did eat. I have been coughing a lot and blowing my nose when I am not coughing. I've gone through a whole box of Puffs and had to stop and pick up some more tonight on the way home, along with some Halls Cough Drops and some Alka Seltzer Cold Medicine. I'd been taking the Tylenol Cold but someone recommended the Alka Seltzer so I'll try that. My house smells like Lysol and Vicks...and I've been hosing down my work station with Lysol all day too. Monday night was not a good night for sleeping since I was coughing my head off for most of it. I called the doctor on Tuesday and got some cough medicine with codeine (mmmmmmmmmmmmmm). I went to sleep around 8 last night and woke up at 4 this morning feeling a little groggy but rested. I will do the same tonight.

George called me on Saturday and said I sounded miserable. I told him I was near death and probably contagious so he should stay away, but he insisted on coming by to make me soup or fluff my pillows or just hold my hand. I told him to wear a mask and rubber gloves and bring juice and I will let him in. He was so sweet. He made me tea and held my fever ridden aching body against him and I told him, "You know, all these macho man heroics aren't gonna get you any sex" and he said, "Darlin...all that coughing and blowing your nose isn't turning me on so don't you worry about that one bit." As long as we got that settled.

So...about George. We met in high school when he started coming around the neighborhood one summer with his friend Al who was friends with my brother Dave and my cousin Bill. He was really quiet, kind of shy, and never said a whole lot but had a huge loud laugh. I think he was stoned most of the time. He definitely had that reputation but he didn't 'look' like the other potheads I knew about in school. He was clean cut and a bit geeky, and always came by riding his 10 speed. I was hanging around with a large group of kids from the neighborhood and we always met after supper either in my back yard or in the back alley behind my house. The guys would play basketball and the girls would sit on "The Wall" and giggle about the boys. Soon George and Al were coming over almost every night and sometimes we would all walk down to the park and just hang out. When the weather got colder, we still would meet at the Wall and sometimes we'd hang out down in my parents basement to get out of the cold. Almost every weekend in the winter we would spend the evenings down in the basement listening to music and playing cards. Some of the guys and girls would sneak away into the corner and make out. Apparently it was in this corner that George received his first kiss...from me! What a tramp I am. I had no idea I was his first kiss until he told me last week. Anyway, we seemed to have our 'moment' then it passed, and we went on to meet and date other people (I even dated his older brother for a short while) and remained friends. We worked for the same company for several years and still partied together as a group, went to each other's weddings and welcomed each others newborn babies into the world. Eventually I lost touch with most of them. The last I had heard about George was he had 2 kids and was living up North somewhere. Imagine my surprise when out of the blue he called me a couple of weeks ago. He is separated now and he has 3 kids, all grown and 1 living at home. He works as a Manufacturing Engineer at an electronics company up North and talks and talks and talks. LOL Who knew? It's been nice having someone to go to dinner with and to just sit around the table and talk to someone who actually participates in conversation. We've had a good time reminiscing and hanging out together the past couple of weeks and it's hard to believe 23+ years has passed. Well except now we can hear each others bones crack when we get up from the chair. He's kept in touch with many of the people in our group and I have been in touch with several others over the years so maybe with a little effort we can have some kind of reunion this summer and get the whole gang together again. I think it would be great fun.

I suppose I should get myself in the kitchen and make something to eat. Seems I gave the cook the night off so I'm gonna have to do it myself. What was I thinking?

Stay warm