Lasting but not everlasting

Once again, the little calendar my grandmother gave me gets a mention. An April entry says, "Afflictions may be lasting, but they are not everlasting."

That is the message I needed over the past few days. Amazing how six days can feel so much longer! On Tuesday my throat got scratchy, and I started taking allergy medication. Wednesday my whole body felt like it had been run over, my head felt like lead, my throat hurt bad, I was coughing, sweating, and shivering. Oh, and my ears started itching.

Thursday my throat felt like fire. I had no voice, was exhausted . . . Well, you get the idea. It got worse. And worse. For three days I couldn't talk, which is not really such a bad thing; but the pain was terrible.

Saturday went to a doctor, and though I don't like taking antibiotics, I did. This was the first time a doctor ever offered me Lortabs for a sore throat, too. I guess it looked as bad as it felt. (I didn't take him up on the Lortabs.)

So, I'm better now, and very thankful. Still can't sleep lying down, and can't talk very loud, but I did do some work today.

And today I went outside for the first time in days. And even though I'm distressed that those beautiful plants can produce such effects in my system (the doc said probably fighting the allergy wore me down enough that the infection was able to get in and run rampant), I was delighted to see the early blooms on some of our plants.

It never fails to delight me. Anybody have an explanation for that? How you can see the same basic flowers year after year and still be amazed and delighted?

For tonight, I will share my photo of the first sweetheart rose of the season, at least that I've seen.


I feel a kinship with this photo, in that I'm glad to be alive but still feeling a little out of focus.

This is the rosebush that came to me via a cutting from my parents' bush, which was a cutting from Grandmother's. (See my January 15 posting for a clearer photo and a bit of background as to why it is so special.)

By the way, I am moderating comments now, so they may take a little longer to appear on the blog. And when you comment, you have to decipher a little graphically enhanced "word" to prove you are a real person, not a computer sending out junk comments. It's less elegant, less easy, but after a few spammy comments, I felt the need to take control. It should make the whole experience nicer for all of us in the long run.

And remember that spam, like throat infections, may be lasting. But it's not everlasting.

And spam talk aside, I really do love that quote about afflictions. It's easy to remember and packed with truth and hope. I have a feeling I'll be remembering it in a lot of situations.

I'll be putting more photos of new flowers in posts to come. Hope you enjoy! I wonder how many of you love flowers and what you grow? (Hint, hint. I want you to try out the new comment system to be sure it doesn't scare you off.)

And I promise not to whine about my afflictions next time.