Nurse Bandit

This one is historical within historical... and it introduces my sidekick:

            For those of you who've known me a while, you may remember when I was pregnant with Becca.  The span of months being sick, fighting with the landlord to get her to address the mold issue, and losing my voice for six weeks.  It was scary for me, wondering if my voice was really going to come back, hating that I couldn't talk, coughing so hard I got dizzy...

            Here's the thing: my voice came back, of course, but every time I lose it again for some reason, it's just a little scary again.  I have bronchitis again, and it irritates the hell out of me that my body once again succumbed to this weakness in my lungs.  The doctor told me that it's typical for the body to behave that way... people are prone to certain types of illnesses once they've been hit hard by it in the past.  What barely affects one person will knock another on their ass for days.  So here I am, on the floor, looking for the bus that hit me. 

            Thankfully, Becca just has a little cough, and Pat has some sinus pressure, but that's it.  My friend told me this is nature's way of telling me to slow the hell down and take care of myself for once instead of everyone else.  Pat actually agreed with that sentiment.  So, here I am again with no voice, wondering why it takes something like this for me to relax. 

            Granted, this isn't very relaxing, but I've been thinking about it the last couple of days.  I actually got to watch TV last night (they have some pretty good new shows).  Bandit got to sit on my lap for a while.  I got to answer some emails on the computer instead of just my phone.  I was worrying about work, and Pat told me they would be just fine without me, which I know to be true, of course, but I was still worrying.  I always think of him as the worrier, but maybe it's because he just worries, out loud, and I DO things to try to take the worry away.  As I was feeling more and more run-down on Saturday night, I began making a plan of action for work, figuring out who could replace me without upsetting the schedule too much.  I sent an email to the people I work most closely with, letting them know that paranoid me wanted them to know the symptoms so they could avoid being as sick as I was. 

            Yeah, I suppose I do worry a lot.  But it's just my way of showing I care.  

            I hope everyone else is well and healthy.  I'll be back in the thick of things soon, but for now, I'm going to go have a bowl of oatmeal and relax with Bandit, watching the misty morning roll in and taking some more medicine to fight off my blessing in disguise.  Enjoy your Tuesday, everyone.