Sniffles and Ahhh Moments.

As is par when a large group of people gather together, some of whom are children, the sneezes and stomach bug are making their rounds in my parents' house. My brother was the first casualty, hit on Christmas Eve, but was able to scrounge up some health to feel better by Christmas morning. My Dad was the next casualty, asleep almost all day yesterday, and today my Mom is the latest victim, staying quarantined within the walls of the master bedroom.

Fa la la la la, la la la la! :)

Thankfully, I've managed to veer away from anything involving queasiness (I think I've paid my dues in that department), but a runny nose has haunted me for a few days now. At first I thought it was allergies until my Dad asked me this morning how I was sure it was allergies and not a cold. Hmm. Well, my eyes are itchy and my nose is runny and good grief, I don't know. Wishful thinking, maybe? So my days are spent with a hankie in one hand and a water bottle in the other. I think I'm almost over it, though. Today I woke up looking like Bozo the clown with enormous red chapped lips thanks to the dryness that accompanies much sneezing and blowing of nose, but I've felt better today than I have the past few days. I wish I could hear or taste, but, meh, that will come later.

So, while the sickies make their way around the house, a warm fire still crackles in the fireplace and the beautiful views over my parents' snow-dusted land remain breathtaking. The quiet is still very welcome and peaceful, very different from the home my husband and I share. My husband and I by no means live in a booming metropolis, but we do live in a neighborhood as opposed to being out in "the country" (yeehaw!) and Target is only a mile or so from our home (which is lovely, really), so silence ... you know, the kind of silence you can almost touch, it's so thick ... is absent from our lives, for the most part. I think this is why I love staying out here. Don't get me wrong--I love my home. But this used to be my home and I love it, too. There's something about opening the front door and being greeted with only the sounds of birds singing and wind in the trees ... it calms the soul. Ahhh.

Of course, given the frigid temperature outside, those ahhhh moments are quite brief, if existent at all, but you get the point. :)

Time to make some hot cocoa.

Have a lovely day.