Silent Support

I went to work today for several reasons. The main one, of course, was that I felt fine and had plenty to do. That was followed closely by the fact I had previously scheduled a hair upgrade over a long lunch. The culmination, naturally, was that we had a planned Royal Road Trip to Neillsville.

I am a time management goddess. I squeezed all those things in -- plus remembered to take my two circus peanut-sized anti-strep pills!

Work was good, my hair appointment was better ... and the Royal Road Trip was definitely the best.

Since Carter rode the Pep Band bus over to Neillsville, we could make a bee line from work (just about) on Highway 10. So we worked 'til normal time and stopped in Stevens Point for a quick bite to eat, then were on our way to the sectional showdown with Plum City.

We got there plenty early and we needed to in order to get a good seat. We had an awesome turnout. Both schools had lots of fans plus their bands. An exciting atmosphere!

I knew that I needed to take my healing throat seriously, so I hoped I wouldn't have major reasons to yell. Cheer, yes, but yell in frustration, no. So I quickly adopted the golf clap (loud version) and the silent fist pump for great plays. I didn't even do my celebratory whistle because I did not need a throat setback. My silent support did the trick!

While the first half saw many lead changes, the Assumption girls got command of the game in the 3rd quarter. Their lead shrunk a bit in the 4th quarter but thanks to some starters from Plum City fouling out, we held our ground and won 65-50! Yay!

Now our #2 ranked Royals will play against #1 ranked Seneca on Saturday evening in La Crosse. I don't know if I'll have my voice back by then, but I'll still have my blue nail polish and my new conference championship t-shirt!

Culture Club

I've inherited several traits from my father. I suppose if you lumped most of them together they could just be labeled "stubborn." But I like to think of myself as hearty with stamina and staying power, willing to stand my ground until something changes or goes away.

Yep, I guess stubborn could be used.

I know Dad and I are not fans of going to the doctor. LeRoy and I like to "wait and see." Will it go away or, on occasion, get so bad we have to seek help? Immediately.

I've been dealing with some night-time coughing this winter. It's like stuff settles in my chest and I end up coughing through the night, waking up on occasion with a cough drop in my mouth. Every time hubby "encourages" me to go to the doctor, I say I will but... then I go a few night with nothing so I brush it off.

On Monday, though, I had a new symptom. My throat suddenly was hurting so bad, it hurt to swallow air. My first thought was "Uh-oh, I hope I don't have strep." But then I remembered that the few times I have had allergies in my life, this is exactly how it starts. With that sneaky sore throat that leads to everything else.

So I tracked down some allergy medication in the office and took a pill Monday and yesterday. It minimized the pain only slightly, but now I know that could have been the ibuprofen I was talking for my "I bowled too much this weekend" back pain.

Today, I decided I would go to the walk-in clinic after work. I sent Jim on his way to Madison to the funeral home for Kiley's visitation. All he said to me was, "Why are you going now, in Week 14 of this?"

Ha. Funny guy.

Probably because this is something different! When I got to the clinic and the doctor checked me out, he didn't think I had anything major going on. As a precaution, though, he took a throat culture. Oh I do not like that type of culture! Definitely the Culture Club I remember from the '80s. My knee-jerk reaction was not to jerk my knee but push him away with my hands. Whoops.

He wasn't hurt nor offended. Whew.

He said the strep test would only take 5-7 minutes so I waited. I'm not sure who was more surprised by the results -- him or me. He walks in and says, "Well, you have strep."

I know LeRoy would say, "That's what I thought!" Because he... me... we.... know everything!

So I had to go to the pharmacy to get my pretty pink antibiotic horse pills.

Not entirely exaggerating am I? I have to take those twice daily 'til gone plus, I am sure the doctor -- if he would have had more time -- would have ordered ice cream as needed. And I need it!

The good news is I am only slightly contagious for the 24-hour period after getting on the drugs. So while I wouldn't have to work tomorrow, I will go and stay secluded in my cubicle. Then later, when we go to the girls playoff game in Neillsville, I will be past my contagious stage.

Honestly, other than the throat hurting, I feel fine. No fever or headaches or anything.

Just one last pint of Schwan's Peppermint Stick ice cream in the freezer calling my name. 

Oh, LeRoy... come here...