As luck would have it, as soon as I start to recover from my overbooked schedule, life throws me a monkey wrench upside the head.

Or more precisely, to the upper respiratory system.

While I was writing that post about my day on the boat with Dave, I started to get that telltale tickle in my throat and sinuses that said “whoo-wee, boy, you’re gonna be sick.”

And I was.

I stayed in bed until 2:45 p.m. Sunday. Got up for an hour or two, which naturally turned into 12, and then went back to bed.

Woke up Monday morning feeling like somebody (or something) drove over me, taking extra special care to hit the ol’ windpipe and vocal cords. Went back to bed. Got up for a few hours, and went back to bed again. Got up at 8 p.m. and then – of course! – couldn’t get fall asleep until after 2 a.m. again.

Woke up Tuesday morning feeling generally much, much better. Waited for a few minutes after I got up to see if “the Cough” was planning to return. It did. However, since I felt so much better, I decided to take a little nap and then work at least a half day from home. That I did, and them some, and the Cough was kept from infecting my co-workers.

A decent sleep on Tuesday evening allowed me to get back to work on Wednesday. The Cough had subsided considerably, and while it was still hanging on, I wasn’t in much danger of spreading germs. I washed my hands a couple extra times just to avoid the possibility of giving away the illness, too.

Thursday was also pretty good. Until the evening, that is. I started coughing a bit more than I would have liked around dinner time. It escalated ever so slowly until I needed to go to bed (naturally). At that point, it became an “I’m not going to bother you very often, but when I do, I will be just obnoxious enough that you won’t want to go to bed and wake up your wife” sort of cough. And so it went, until finally at 3:45 a.m. it appeared that I could safely go get a few winks.

Boy, was I wrong.

I was just passing into blissful, dreamy sleep at 4:20 a.m. when the Cough came back with a vengeance. For the next 45 minutes I did battle with it; cough drops and plenty of water were at hand, but nothing seemed to tame the beast. By the time I finally got back to bed it was after 5:00 a.m. in the morning.

So, here I sit, waiting for my cough to subside enough that I can get some sleep. Michelle claims I shouldn’t worry about her tonight, and I am really sleepy now, so maybe I’ll take her advice and get to bed now, while I feel like I can. And who wouldn’t, after managing only 4 total hours of sleep the evening before.

Really, I’m feeling so much better than I was on Monday, it’s hard to even compare. I’m beginning to think I’d rather be sick like that, though, than have to deal with this nasty, intermittent, evil hack that just won’t go away.

Well, there’s my do-stuff-you’ve-been-ignoring-all-day alarm. Time to push the snooze and call it a night… Zzzzzzz…