I've got a Cold in my Nose

I have a cold, god dammit. So annoying. Don't you hate it when you have a cold, you take some cold medicine to make it through the night, and because the raw throat, scummy lips and drooling from all the mouth breathing aren't enough, some time in the middle of the night your nose starts to leak? You're completely congested, so there's no real movement in or out, and any amount of blowing doesn't seem to make any difference, but somewhere around three in the morning, you feel something wet dripping from your nose. You don't want to blow, because the first blow after a few hours of not blowing is accompanied by a little cough, and you don't want to wake up the man, or the dogs. So you grab some kleenex and dab at your nose, and now that you are awake, you are aware of how raw your throat feels, and how your mouth tastes like ass, and you have to fall asleep all over again, praying that the nyquil has not worn off.

When the alarm goes off at 6:30, you feel like there's extra gravity under your bed and you don't want to get up more than you have not wanted to get up ever, but you kind of do want to get up so you can go brush your teeth, and tongue and lips and the roof of your mouth. But you know that if you get up, the dogs will be awake and start making their needs known, so you just lay there and try to ignore all the gross little things that have happened to your face over night.

You know what makes this scenario even better? Is when you're seven year old daughter decides to wake up super early, and read OUT LOUD in her room. It was just after 6, with a half hour left to go until the alarm went off, and she's in her bed, lights on, reading Ivy and Bean, full voice, with feeling and probably gesticulation. And now the dogs are up. Waking up at 3 a.m. with leaky nose is one thing, but waking up in the sweet half hour before the alarm goes off is another altogether. So I'm laying there, not wanting to get up (see previous paragraph) but now I'm getting mad, and there's no way you can go back to sleep when you're mad. So I get out of bed, stomp into her room, and tell her to shut the fuck up. Of course I didn't really say that, but that was the sentiment. She apologized up and down this morning, but that don't get mommy her half hour of precious sleep back, does it, little girl?

I have to say, though, as annoying as having a cold may be, compared to the Big Sick of 2009, its no big deal. I figure, if I could handle a crisis feeling the way I do, then I'm not that sick, and for that I am grateful. You know what else is awesome? I only have to leave the house one more time today, and I can stay in the rest of the day and sleep or watch TV or whatever. The kid has been walked to school, the doggies have both been walked and were both business men (meaning they both pooped) a dark load is in the washer, and I am free and clear for a few hours. I'm almost out of kleenex, and that may be a problem, but other than that, this will be a good day for a cold.