Back to being 8 Do you remember the last time you had pink eye? For me, it seems like when I was about 8 years old. Somewhere in elementary school, I'm sure. You remember the goop you had to put in your eye that made your vision all blurry? Well, here's my story: I have been incredibly ill the last few days, with a cough the likes of which I can't remember having since, again, elementary school. I kept telling myself that I should go to the doctor, and hearing "gentle nudges" of the same sentiment from my mother, but I kept telling myself that in a couple of days I would kick it and it would have been a waste of time off work and other social duties. Well, last night as I was going to bed, I noticed that my eye was a little scratchy and, well, let's just be honest: boogery. I thought that I had gotten a piece of fuzz or something stuck in it, and sort-of complained to my dad. His reaction I was not expecting. "I bet you have pink eye," he casually replied. Not wanting to believe such a thing, I blew him off. Until this morning. This morning I awoke to a right eye very, very pink and practically swollen, not to mention sealed shut. Yep. I looked like I had either been crying all night (only just out of my right eye), or had gotten punched right in the socket, so I figured something was up. Reluctantly I called the doctor (well, my mom actually did as I went back to bed...) and made an appointment. The first thing the nurse practitioner said when she walked in the room was, "Man, honey, do you look altogether miserable!" Yep. It showed : ). She took out her little snooper, scoper thingy and looked in my ears, all the while chatting about what she was and was not finding. "Looks good here," she said as she inspected my canals. Then she stuck the thing up my right nostril. "Looks ok here." Then she moved to my left. "WHOAH! This one's NOT OK!" Slightly more curious about what she was finding, she instructed me to open my mouth. "Say aaaaah. That's good. Now let me just look in here....WHOAH, HONEY! You've got SPOTS in there!!! Girl, you've got strep!" "Figures," was my reply. "Why not add it to the list?" So, at the end of the appointment I left with two slips of paper: one for eye drops to battle the increasing puffy/gooeyness in both of my eyes, and the other for the strongest kick-butt antibiotics to get rid of whatever sort of breeding bacteria was causing spots on my throat, an incessant cough, and the reaction "Whoah!" when she looked up my left nostril. So, I ended up being quarantined to my room for 2 days. No work, no Bible study, no social outings. I can't remember the last time this happened (and no, Japan does not count, because they freak out when your nose drips.) I seriously think I was probably 8 years old. Although I'll enjoy the mandatory rest, I certainly hope my immune system kicks it up a notch, or we're going to have a looooong. winter!