Monday, March 9, 2009

Allergies and Other Lessons

As I type this at this late hour my eyes are almost completely swollen shut. Not from a beating I may or may not have deserved from my life partner, but rather from a self induced allergy attack. I am waiting for the Benadryl to kick in so I won't bug Steve with my sneezing and blowing and itching and groaning. I have had allergies now for about.....as many years as I have a memory. I have always been allergic to anything with fur, especially fluffy, soft fur like one may find on a cat or a cute little BUNNY. This is nothing new. I went over to my friend Tana's house to participate in the book club that I quit two months ago (ha, ha) and decided to make friends with her bunny Theodore. He is a mini-lop and so friendly. For those of you who have known me for a long time you will remember that I once had a mini-lop named Bunnel who was my best friend in Boston. She was given to me by one of my science students and quickly bonded to me. We spent many happy evenings together while Steve was off at school and I had no one else to talk to. I built up a kind of allergy tollerance to her because we lived in such close proximity to eachother. I loved Bunnel and Bunnel loved me until I had Haley and Bunnel was moved outside. Then Bunnel met our dog Dori, and well that relationship turned out to be fatal for my sweet Bunnel. (And that's all I have to say about that.) Anyway I got down on the floor to relive my memories of Bunnel with Theodore. He loved being stroked and sat very contentedly. I reminded myself not to touch my face under any circumstance after touching the bunny. I did pretty well until I got home and dropped my guard. When I see my cozy bed, beckoning me so invitingly, I immediately have to rub my eyes and not 10 seconds later the itching started. I didn't immediately figure out it was allergies, so I continued to rub one eye and then the other. Steve at one point said I looked like a football player and encouraged me to look at myself in the mirror. (He adores me, he really does.) The the eye itching became so intense that I remembered my encounter with sweet Theodore and searched for my Benadryl. The people who package Benadryl have obviously never had problems with allergies, because it is the most frustrating thing to open when your eyes and your nose are dripping and your adrenalin is making it impossible to open the teeny tiny package. I finally decided to get out my small trimming scissors and cut the packaging off of this precious pink pill of relief This proved to be difficult too, but I finally got the pill out only to drop it in my very cluttered, and open, makeup drawer. So with eyes swelling and shutting, nose running, sneezes overcoming my very existence, I began to search through my make up drawer looking for this tiny pill. I found it, took it with a stale cup of water that I found on the counter and here I sit, waiting for the relief only Benadryl can provide. It was/is an adventure. Maybe when I turn 36 I'll remember that I have allergies and it is NEVER a good idea to touch bunnies.

As for other lessons: 1. Men always make jokes anytime you say the word "Balls," even if you are talking about tennis balls.
2. The most unlikely people can pour such wisdom into your life if you are willing to take the time to listen.
3. Good friends really make everyday a little bit easier.

8 comments:

Artie said...

do you have other allergies too?
I got the allergy/immune therapy shots 10 years ago and I'm doing it again now and it REALLY works. If they can build me an immunity to cockroach, cat dander and dust mites, I'm sure they have bunny serum. The test is NOT fun but its worth it. My allergies were seriously so bad a decade ago that I can say that the shot therapy changed my life for the better.

I know what you mean about the benadryl packages. LOL get the bottle next time. =)

hang in there, my puffy, snotty friend.

Anonymous said...

she said 'balls.' ha ha

Joy said...

My eyes are watering. i think I am allergic to reading the word "bunny."

Anonymous said...

Very nice descriptions. I could picture the whole thing and was quite entertained!

Jenny said...

Can I just say: This is so YOU! Only Jenn would KNOW that she has and always has had allergies and STILL pick up the gd rabbit. Only Jenn would KNOW that she has allergies and LIVE with a rabbit. Only Jenn would KNOW that she has asthma and pick a sport like tennis that makes her choose between life and death with every match. "what are you prepared to do?" ROTF LOL CACKLE CACKLE CACKLE.

Anonymous said...

im exhausted

Anonymous said...

by the way...who is that bad guy in the snow pic with my nieces!!!?

Anonymous said...

Wouldn't it be great if you had a friend that could tell you all about a technique that really gets rid of allergies? A friend that has actually seen first hand life long allergies disappear because of this process. Nah, you probably wouldn't check it out. N.A.E.T - google it sometime