Sniffles

Here's how to define sheer misery on a cold, December day: sitting in your cubicle at work, sneezing, sniffling, blowing your nose, and trying to keep your face from slamming into your keyboard.

Here's how to define sheer joy on a cold, December night: sitting in your daughter's bedroom while Dr. Marsh (a.k.a. your daughter) writes down your vital signs and diagnoses you with a "warm cold." The symptoms of a warm cold include: a temperature of 10 degrees; no hard beat (read: no pulse); throat temperature of five degrees; and a wet ear. ("Mom, I'm being serious here. I really am a doctor.")

Cure for the warm cold? Get two hours and 10 minutes of sleep, drink water, and drink cranberry juice. I even have a doctor's note with instructions. And Dr. Marsh told me I would be well in 4 days. I even got a prize for being such a good patient, and I got another prize for "taking my medicine" (a.k.a. drinking the cranberry juice). This prize was the best - a baby plastic tiger taped to a sheet of paper with the words, "Congragulations - from Dr. Marsh" written on it.

Is a cold worth all this? You bet!