I’ve never had trouble with allergies, mostly. That was always my poor brother’s lot in life with horrible asthma and the inhalers. I usually got sick once at the tail end of the pollen season but that was usually because I’m the run-and-gun sort of person who runs until I drop.
Then I moved to Spokane.
I’ve seen those memes, the ones that equate pollen to the Death Star. And it makes sense to me. I’ve seen how allergies can prevent a person from breathing and been in the hospital with my brother more than once growing up. But never in my waking memory have I seen pollen attack a region they way it is currently attacking the Pacific Northwest, particularly Eastern Washington.
This Memorial Day we did what a lot of PNW families do- we headed to the lake. It’s still WAY TOO COLD to swim, but my insane husband jumped in anyway. I may have made the plunge too. My daughter was smarter than both mommy and daddy and stayed on the edge just kicking her feet. The main reason I’m glad she didn’t is her parents have been coughing and sneezing like no body’s business for days now. The rivers of pollen that remind me of the treacherous lake scene from Dante’s Peak may have something to do with it.
So today, my first real day off in a while, I am keeping my keaster IN-DOORS, with a spot of tea and a dollop of honey. Can’t fight pollen with light sabers, so might as well use the Force.
