Ugh. I got sick yesterday while I was at work. It’s always amazing to me how fast a cold can come on. I woke up in the morning and I felt completely normal. At 10 a.m. I had a meeting with my new boss and it was during that meeting that suddenly my throat felt just ever so slightly “off.” You know, just that subtle little tickle or scratch you get that is barely there at first. An hour later it was definitely a little scratchy and by 3ish or so I was heavily suspicious that I was headed down a bad path.

By nighttime the cough and sore throat had set in big time. Ahhh – nooooooo!!! I hate being sick! It got so bad that I didn’t even feel like having wine last night. That’s just crazy talk, I know.

Of course, this was not a surprise. A couple of days ago Ian started sneezing and it was obvious that he was under the weather – granted, certainly not by his energy level (does that kid ever stop? I don’t think so) – but by the sneezing and amount we had to request that he blow his nose. One can only guess this is a rite of passage for kindergarten, just as it was back when he started daycare. Which is fine and all, but does he have to pass it on to his parents? I say – no fair! And frankly, I was surprised at how quickly I came in behind him to pick up the slack. I mean, he’s not even recovered yet. Talk about your speedy incubation period!

So, last night was super fun because I got to enjoy the whole “I can’t sleep because I feel like crap and can’t breathe, so I’m going to wander aimlessly around the house in the middle of the night looking for the meaning of life.” Either that, or check out random pictures on Facebook. By morning I was pretty much aching all over. The only thing that motivated me to get myself to work was the knowledge that I was going to go in just to focus on my magazine deadline and then I was going home to get in bed…by 1 p.m. at the very latest! Yeah, right. I did leave early though…about 4:30 p.m., I believe. Not quite enough time to crawl into bed as I had hoped, but what can you do?

Tonight when I was getting Elena in her jammies, she and I were taking turns with sneezes…so clearly she’s next. It’s like a regular germ fest around here.

The good news is that unless I wake up feeling miraculously better, with my big deadline now behind me, I will be staying home and resting tomorrow. It’s nice to work in a place where you really are looked at skeptically when you come into the office hacking your lungs out vs. the “way to be tough!” attitude I’m still used to from previous cultures.

Let’s hope the next time you hear from me I’ll be on my way to feeling normal again because honestly, I just have way too much going on to deal with this kind of inconvenience. Elena and Ian will probably be headed toward their next illness by then. And up next: Jeff!

Here’s to back to school season!