This is the kind of week we've had around here :-) Everyone is sick (including Big Spike--he probably ate another dryer sheet). I walked into the bedroom this afternoon and came upon this scene. Big Spike is also on the bed--he's just under the covers, and Lily was asleep in her kitty bed. Everyone is pooped! I stayed home from work last Saturday (a week ago today) because I was getting a sore throat. On Sunday my sore throat had gotten worse, and then my right ear started to swell up. By Sunday night, my ear was HUGE, red, hot, and hurt a lot. Greg thought I had mumps or meningitis, so in a panic we went to the Prompt Care doctor. The doctor said I had "Cellulitis of the Ear." I said, "What is THAT???" She said it's just an infection of the skin. It probably originated from a little scratch I had on my ear. So she gave me some antibiotics, and Greg and I spent the rest of the evening looking for a 24-hour pharmacy.My sore throat turned into a cold on Monday, but at least the antibiotics started working and my ear started shrinking. I stayed home from work again on Tuesday, but felt a bit better on Wednesday. Wednesday was a good day--I thought I was on the mend. So I went to work again on Thursday. But Thursday was a bad day. (Although something really good happened on Thursday--I saw my little friend Sterling Stowell from Charleston, whose class came to visit the Lincoln Home!) It seems that since I started working at the Lincoln Home, I lose my voice at least once a year. I could feel my voice going on Thursday afternoon. I told Jason Collins, who was in charge, that I was losing my voice, but he said we didn't have enough people working to be able to let me leave. So instead of going home, I had to give five back-to-back tours! On my last tour, I literally couldn't talk. I felt really bad for the people on my tour. I basically had to talk in a loud whisper. Seven different people suggested that I should try some tea with "honey and whiskey" in it when I got home. I just smiled and whispered, "Okay, thank you for the suggestion." Needless to say, I did not go to work on Friday or today--still no voice.
And now Greg is sick too :-( We're quite a pair. Last night Greg wanted me to ride down to St. Louis with him because he had to pick up Mrs. Evers. Unfortunately Mrs. Evers passed away in Texas and had to fly to St. Louis. She and I played the quiet game on the way home. I think it was a tie! So it's been pretty quiet around the house today, except for the occasional coughing/sneezing fit. We should probably put a quarantine sign outside so that no little kiddies come trick-or-treating here and get our germs!
