Let's Go Away For A While

We're going back! Back to our beautiful cottage on the ocean, in the tiny town on the barrier island where we don't know anyone, barely get cell service, and don't do much of anything.

It's paradise, pretty much. We eat, we drink, we cook, we fish, we walk, we read, we sleep. This year may be a little different, though, because I'm still off the sauce, thanks to my unwelcome companion, the mono. The mono is a tenacious virus, and I'm darn sick of it throwing its weight around. Since nothing's ever simple, the mono's wreaking havoc somewhere between my spleen and my liver, polluting my blood with all kinds of grody chemicals at crazy levels that furrow my doctor's brow and make me conjure doomsday scenarios when I try to fall asleep.

Oh, and sleeping? It's supposed to be a cinch with the mono, right? Not so here. For more than a week now, I've had the most oppressive full-body rash I've ever had. I itch all day long, every day, and am woken up every night (seriously, every night) by it. Some nights Cam and I can't even sleep in the same room, so agonizing is the scratching. My feet are the worst at night, and I've tried everything -- cortisone, Benadryl, oatmeal baths, Aveeno with and without menthol, scratching the sh** out of them, not scratching at all. The only thing that actually works is plunging my feet into ice-cold water and soaking them till they're numb. Then I can usually fall back asleep, but if my feet warm up before I pass out, forget it, we're back to square one.

Woo! That was ranty! Sorry, but it's really one of those things that's simple on its face, but boy does it wreck you. Face, yeah, that's another place I'm rashy, by the way. Anyway, I'm really hoping the mono's gone by the time we head East. I'm sure the sound of the ocean will make me feel better no matter what the mono's doing... But I'd also like to be able to share wine with my sweetie. Hoping that's not too much to ask.