Sanctuary

Today is the day.

Demolition on the north porch, the first of our three porches, starts this morning around 8:00 A.M.

Keys have been made, a (huge) check has been cut, the building permit is ready to be posted and in about an hour or so a work crew and a big lumber truck will leave the north side winding their way to our place on the south side.

Unfortunately due to allergies that have decided to show themselves at this advanced stage of my life, I may not be able to see anything that’s going on today.

Last Thursday while I was at work, my right eye started to itch. I really didn’t think anything of it as the weather changes here in Chicago almost on an hourly basis. My skin has never taken kindly to such fickle weather so I just thought it was voicing its displeasure the way skin normally would, by getting tight and itchy.

When it didn’t go away when I put a medicated ointment on it, I knew what I was in for.

I didn’t feel the swelling right away but I knew it was there. When I looked in a mirror, underneath my right eye was bright red and puffy.

In a half an hour my upper lid matched the bottom.

In another two hours my eyes were swelling shut at work.

Not in a nice swelling type of way but in a Quasimodo, climb the bell tower and scream “Sanctuary” type of way.

If my co-workers---and more importantly my boss---had not been there to see it, I’m sure they would of thought that I made such tales up when I want to take a sick day.

I could still see but my field of vision was shrinking. Nonetheless, I could see the looks of abject horror on their faces that was mixed with pity. I could almost hear them thinking, “God, that was so quick.” And “How can she live like that, not knowing when any of this will come on?”

We all have our crosses to bear, right?

The onset of my allergies in my 30’s is somewhat of a mystery but on the upside it has forced me to become a much cleaner person as I don’t want my skin to crawl and to sneeze all over the place.

This from the person who didn’t get chicken pox when she was put in the bed next to other children that had active itchy cases of chicken pox.

So much for that invincible immune system.

So when the work crew gets here this morning I’m glad that another board member has taken the day off to make sure the crew and the foreman has all of the access they need and to be here to answer any questions.

My eyes are itchy.