ROAD BLOG AHEAD

This afternoon I took a nap and woke after awhile thinking I was having an asthma attack. My chest felt heavy, constricted. It was hard to breathe. There was this strange vibration… I came to consciousness then and realized that there was about eight kilos of purring feline curled up on my sternum. The cat we call Itty Bitty Kitty (for the same reason that bald guys get called “Curly”) never used to do that - sit on me. That was Velcro’s spot. But Velcro died 2 months ago and now that I’m sick and Lena’s away, the cat has taken to parking on me whenever I’ll hold still.

She’s a funny cat, this one - a calico with beautiful markings and green eyes. Quite the curmudgeon in personality and also very smart - she’s taken over as the chief cat in our household since Pearl became senile. And now she’s sitting on me constantly. But not affectionately. Oh no, do not ever think that. One might mistake this attentiveness and purring for a kind of affection. One might confuse her vigilance at my sick bed for caring and nurturing. But Itty Bitty Kitty (aka Serendipity, aka Sara, aka Lardass) will not tolerate such foolish sentimentality. I made the mistake the other night, while I was petting her (until she drooled mind you) and scratching her chin, of telling her how much I appreciated her company, of praising her and telling her that she was a fine cat and very lovely. When I came to the point of mentioning her thoughtfulness in keeping me company while I was sick, I must have crossed over some line because she gave me such a look out of those green eyes! Then she bit my hand just hard enough to make me jump and left the room abrubtly. I guess I broke some unspoken feline rule about never letting them know that you know. Ooops.

I’ve been positively maudlin today. It’s probably an artifact of all the bacteria and virii dying off in my bloodstream, but I have spent a good part of my day weeping and feeling just too too sorry for myself. It probably means that I’m feeling better than I was. I know I haven’t wanted to spend the entire afternoon asleep as I did the last few days. On the other hand, my focus isn’t back to normal. So I’ve been restless and disgruntled, but not getting much accomplished. Oh, I managed to wash a load of clothes, but only cuz I was out of clean pajamas. I did actually put on a bra and socks today though and washed my hair. This suggests that, either I’m improving - or I’m easily amused.

I really miss Lena a lot. She called today from Chicago where there was decent cell phone reception. I cried at her, much to my disgust and her tolerant amusement. I hate it when I cry at her! But I was feeling so crummy and missing her so much that, at the sound of her voice, I just broke down and wept. At least I didn’t cry when, a little later, Lama Wangdor called to see how I was feeling. That would have been even more embarassing! Fortunately, it’s hard to have a meltdown while trying to remember verb tenses in a tonal language.

They had a bout of the same initial crud, but seem to have gotten over it faster than I have. Doc Ellen thinks I got a dose of a second bug just as I had overcome the first one - she thinks they’re two different things going on at once which is why I ended up with the pneumonia. Aren’t I lucky? I got Lama’s Asian flu AND my grandson’s bacterial infection. Wheeeee.

Oh. Okay. I guess it’s now time to pet a cat. She’s insisting. And you know how cats can be about things like that. She’s going to shed on my keyboard until I do her bidding…

I think it’s time for my bedtime cocktail of nasty but necessary chemicals that permit me to sleep and breathe simultaneously