Pure Evil, I Tell You!

I thought I was recovering. I thought that once the anvil was lifted from my chest that I'd be ok. I thought that once the fever broke (for the 3rd time) that all was well. I thought when I felt better for more than an hour at a time, that I was doing well. Damn Damn Damn!!!!!!!!

The last couple of days have been funky. I've felt crappy, but alive, then, byt the end of the day, I've wanted to crawl back into my bed, turn off the lights and not wake up again. The cough has returned. This time, I figured it was a "productive" cough. Sure, I'm coughing up the yuck that has attempted to set up residence in my lungs, but that's making me hurl all the time (I'm no good at just hocking a lugee), AND my throat is sore and swollen from all of the coughing. Oh, did I mention that I'm hoarse?

On any other weekend I could handle this; ok, no talking or, if impossible, then as minimal as possible. This weekend, though, the band plays Friday night and I have to sing at church on Sunday. I have been waiting a LONG time to get to sing the song that is this Sunday's psalm, it's GORGEOUS, especially if there's a choir harmony backing on the verses. Of ALL POSSIBLE weekends, it has to be this one! GRRRRRRRRRR. NOT amused. Not at ALL.

PC, the dear sweet man that he is, went out and bought me throat coat tea and a TON of vitamin C. I'll drink it, but I think all it will do for Friday is fill me with the after effects of herbal tea (yes, lovely lovely gaseous odors). Even if I'm ok for Friday, I'm worried that performing Friday night on an already maxed and stressed out vocal system, that I'll have NOTHING left for mass on Sunday. I'm trying desperately not to talk, but that's a little difficult to do when you are on the phone all day as part of your job. My band, last night, got a scary little preview of my "voice". They encouraged me to call in sick today...can't, I have no more sick hours, which means no pay...since I have no money, the no pay thing really isn't an option. My boss told me that I should go home, that it's probably walking pneumonia from the sounds of me, and that I'd be worse off if I landed in the hospital for a couple of weeks. She has a point. I think I'll go home at lunchtime and have tea, mentholatum, and NO TALKING - at least til the kids come home, at least until I have to call Ex and tell him that he can't have his way this weekend...another story about which I will give you all the details post-conversation.

I told the band that we can't cancel the gig on account of my voice, but that they'd best polish up all of their boy songs and all the stuff they want to improv on just in case. I've never been this worried about my voice before, it's always come back in the clutch - at least the band voice has. Yes, I'll be sad if I can't sing at church this weekend, but I'm again next weekend, too...different psalm, but we've got "good lent music" this year. I think I'm done whining now. Girl is still coughing, but that's all...she's just got a cough, SmallBoy has been sleeping with the vaporizer in his room forever, since the first signs of this crap, and LargeBoy - well, he's just the healthiest damn kid on the planet. Poor PC, though, he's doomed. I can almost guarantee he will get this and this just SUCKS....I don't want him to have to have this, it's pure evil. I'll take care of him, though, he's been so sweet to me.

The "liquid cures" that so many of you left as comments in my last post about the yucky taste in my mouth were fabulous. My challenge to each of you now: Find something that will bring my voice back before 9:00 tomorrow night.