Day 7

Coming of age in the 1970s, one of my favorite TV shows was The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Each Saturday night I'd tune in for a glimpse of life as a young, independent, professional woman. Mary Richards was the gal I wanted to become one day. Except I never, ever wanted to live in Minneapolis. Still don't.

I picked up all kinds of bits of wisdom watching that show. The most pertinent to today was a piece of advice Mary's mom shared with her about the common cold. "It's three days coming, three days with you, and three days going," she said. Since then, every time I feel a cold coming on, I start counting the days. Time and time again, Mary's mom's words have proven themselves true.

Today is Day 7.

At last this big bad cold bug is finally on it's way out. I've emerged from a Benadryl fog, and the last three days are a blur. I've literally blown through two boxes of Kleenex and slept more hours than I've been awake. The few hours I was awake I spent most with our family here, increasing the odds that soon they'll catch the thing, too.

What a way to start a new year!

We postponed our departure for Livingston until tomorrow to give me a much needed day of rest. By tomorrow, Day 8, I'll be ready to roll. And, that's a good thing. There's another arctic blast on its way that's expected to reach south Texas by Thursday. Of course, that same arctic blast is supposed to bury Kansas City in temperatures that are double digits below zero. So, we'll happily take an overnight temperature of 20 degrees in Livingston. When it comes to being warm in the winter, it's all relative.

In our first six months of fulltiming we've seemed to attract record-breaking weather wherever we go. Here's hoping the next six months are far less eventful!