Thankful Thursday

Today I am so thankful that I don't have whooping cough!! There have been at least six diagnosed cases at Tergaso's work. Apparently it can incubate for 3-12 days and then can present as just a cold for 2-4 weeks before the awful cough begins. So, Tuesday night, Tergaso's supervisor called to tell her that everyone that had any cold or cough symptoms couldn't come in to work until they either had a negative test for whooping cough or had been on antibiotics for it for at least five days and that it was all covered under workers' comp. Well, Tergaso and I have both had colds and I've started having a cough. We've both been immunized but apparently if you haven't had the immunization or a booster in the last eight years, you can still get whooping cough! So we both went in yesterday to get tested. The test is a truly horrible experience. A scraper thing is threaded up your nose and then scrapes the inside to get a sample to test. It feels like a needle is poking your eye from the inside and my sinuses are so sensitive anyway, and they were already not happy, that I was just aching the rest of the day. If it came back positive, we were looking at a five day quarantine and 2-3 months of awful coughing. Fortunately, Thankfully, Gratefully the test results came back negative! Hooray! No whooping here!

My bell choir conductor is also exceedingly grateful because we have a commitment to play a Sunday service and our annual Christmas concert, both this Sunday. He wasn't sure what he'd do if I was quarantined. And I didn't want to miss both that concert or the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert for which we have tickets on Saturday night. This is The Count's last Christmas Concert, he is retiring in April, and the King's Singers are the special guests and I really didn't want to miss it!! So, today, I am very grateful that I don't have whooping cough!

In other, semi-related news: my test results (both blood work and ultrasound) have come back normal. I don't know what the lump in my throat is, but it's not a problem with my thyroid. So, I'm also grateful that my thyroid is healthy!

In other, totally unrelated news: I'm grateful for good books. I'm almost done with Anne of the Island, and thoroughly enjoying my trip back to Prince Edward Island and L.M. Montgomery's fantastic world. I'll probably have to invest in a second set of the books soon, as I've read this set to pieces. I'm also grateful that L.M. Montgomery responded to her fans' requests for more Anne stories and the resulting 7 sequels to Anne of Green Gables. I still have five delightful books ahead of me, to be enjoyed while snuggling under warm blankets while it's snowing outside. Can life get any better?