If my allergies are acting up, then it must be spring

Joe HUGHES LEDGER STAFF WRITER Is it me or is April almost half over?

It must be the grass beginning to turn from pale shades of yellow to green and the sound of baseballs hitting bats at fields all around that show me the signs of new birth. Or is it the hassle of having to complete your taxes that tells you spring is in the air.

For me, it is the arrival of the allergy bug, an unwanted guest.

Every winter, when cold temperatures can cause bones to ache, we seem to ask Mother Nature when she could bring us sunlight and its accompanying warmth.

And each year she does the same thing - gives me the warmth I asked for, but just for trying her she unleashes relentless waves of pollen into the air.

It is a pain, with allergies making it hard to breath and sometimes causing your eyes to itch enough to make them swell.

When I see pollen season coming around each year, I try to contact places that I think have plastic bubbles for sale. They have yet to return my calls.

Even worse, I get it from my father when I tell him of my plight with him.

" I never had allergies and never will... there isn't a way you should either," he will say.

Good... my brother and your youngest son thanks you - he has allergies too.

I guess my dad thinks it feels good to walk around feeling tired all day.

But year after year, I fight a winning battle. Ask my fiance.

She knows of my troubles with allergies, partly because she suffers from the same condition.

This woman has seen me at my worst. For two years when we were at Winthrop University she would sometimes have to make trips to the store for me.

But this time the roles were reversed. On a recent trip to Florida, she would often complain of her nose being so stuffy she could not breathe.

It was quite a surprise for me when she walked through the door as cranky as can be.

"Nobody wants to be nice to me," she said. "You just don't know how I feel."

As you know from previous columns or what a friend referred to it as the "Chronicles from the Doghouse," I should be used to these situations. Well, better said than done.

I had taken her bags upstairs, tried to make sure she was alright, but somehow I'm not being nice. Add to the fact, "I don't know how she felt."

She must have forgotten a few weeks earlier I was the same person bedridden due to allergies. But instead of running off at the mouth, I remembered what a wise old lady told me was the best thing to do - I sat back and listened.

Thanks for the advice, it worked. I simply did what I knew worked for someone with the ailment as I made sure she ate, took down some fluids including water and orange juice and convinced her to take medicine.

Of course, it worked for her and me both. She felt better in the morning and at the same time I still had my sanity.

Now, a few days removed from her being sick, it seems the allergy bug has somehow crept back into my system and is holding me hostage.

I want to go out and watch some good baseball at Commissioner's Field or be able to enjoy the beauty that God has placed on Earth.

Give me a little while. I'll be back.

Joe L. Hughes II (joe@gaffneyledger.com)

writes feature and enterprise stories.