Monday, May 3, 2010

Allergy Woes

Allergies, in a word, SUCK!

Allergies are brought on by our immune systems feeling attacked and fighting back with all their might. I don't know about the next allergy stricken person, but I've had it! My immune system needs a hard fast attitude adjustment.

I have no idea what I'm allergic to but it seems to be everything. I'm not talking about food allergies or even pet allergies but those weird "seasonal" allergies. Which by the way, the word seasonal seems to imply a short term allergy, doesn't it? My allergies warrant a new name...perhaps "consistent, without let up, every moment of every day of MY LIFE" allergies...hmmmm maybe a little dramatic...which reminds me, I may change my blog to Write Now...a DRAMATIC mother's musings.



Anyway, I've tried everything. From prescription to over the counter to holistic. From Allegra to Benadryl to Hylands Sinus products. I should add that I'm addicted to nose spray. This is no small problem either. I believe there are web sites for nose spray addicts. (I'm pretty sure my sense of smell is not what it once was...this is for real people)

My midwife told me, after my then actual seasonal allergies took a turn for the worse during my first trimester,that pregnancy can make your allergies worse. That makes total sense, right? Since your body is working overtime for your baby in progress.

However, they never got better. Does my body think I'm still pregnant? Is my body making fun of me. Is my immune system mocking me for not losing the weight? Okay, I think I've tapped into something here. Moving on.

I think I'm going to have to buckle down and go to an Allergist and get this crap figured out before I'm in a support group saying: My name is Lydia and I'm addicted to nose spray and on the verge of insanity due to my insubordinate immune system".

Oil Between My Toes



On the cusp of a life altering event, I sit now in my living room, just outside, within view, lays the Gulf of Mexico. A family and pet friendly, much loved beach that we and many others have enjoyed without worry that it will be taken away from us. That is now about to change. With the oil fast approaching, there is nothing we can do but wait. Already seafood is all but gone. Crippling the job scene that overwhelms this area. A war zone deep down in that vast open water is now showing it's ugly face on our clean white beaches. A beach that has just now started to come back alive after being crippled by Katrina and it's aftermath. Life was just getting back to normal. Tourism coming back. Our beaches breathing life back into the small communities desolated by the hurricanes complete wipe out.

Yesterday, my father, going down to the beach to see if he could detect any first signs of oil in the water, was startled by the sight of a two foot by two foot sea turtle, dead and bloated, it's final resting place, our beach. A victim of the catastrophe at sea that is making it's way for us.


I'm not sure how to feel or what to do. All I'm sure of is that I feel, deep inside my soul, a sad black cloud coming toward us, suffocating our fresh sea air, killing in it's path all signs of life. This time a war zone taking the lives of helpless creatures, infinite numbers of dead and dying lives.

I'll definitely be writing more on this subject, for it's about to be at my front door and our new "normal".