The dog and I walk our path just as we do each morning–the gift of sun and a slight breeze await us. We breathe in the fresh air and breathe out the peace of another day beginning. In this part of the South, Spring greets us just as she should, but she has on her wings a thick strip of pollen to sprinkle everywhere as she sashays by.
I am an allergy sufferer–one of 50 million in the United States. The culprits? Pollen and shellfish (when not eaten in moderation). As much as I love to feel the sun’s rays beam down on my skin, during the spring months, I suffer the worst. The dog–also not too keen on pollen, does her share of sneezing and coughing. While I take a Claritin-D every morning, I also do nasal spray, and eye drops, and I sometimes have to take two Benadryl at night if the pollen count has been extremely high during that day.
I’m no stranger to Spring’s many gifts and I appreciate life awakening from the dead when she comes around. She lends us the beauty of sunny and longer days, the peace that can be found in birdsong, the cheerful laughter of children’s voices, beautiful blooms on trees and bushes, and wearing less clothing because of warmer temperatures.
But she can be vindictive, too.
It comes at a high cost when you’re an allergy sufferer. Spring can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I try to find the beauty in her without slashing away at her for the many days I struggle to breathe. I try to focus on the positive rather than the negative. I love the newness that surrounds me when she makes an entrance.
At least I know, I’ll garner more photos to look back on when I need a quick pick-me-up.
Spring–dawn’s gift to us comes at a high cost sometimes yet we welcome her.
it’s nearly hurricane season Spring is rushing in with her hands flailing wildly among the trees the sky is hovering in wait it spits violently from its mouth
we are huddled in safe spaces keeping away from windows and finicky doors meteorologists plot and plan and untruthfully dictate when to expect the worst I flit from channel to channel praying for validity
I can hear the wind howling a loud and present reminder for me to remain patient the sun is eager to shine again and we’ll find ourselves gathered out in the open to feel something more than the enclosed spaces of our homes
crows caw and boast from building to building mocking each other during their calls to mob the other birds their means of survival strikes me as terrifying but what would they say about us
I press my fingers into my right palm a stress reliever a gentle and surefire way to calm my nerves this weather won’t last and one day we’ll emerge from the comfort of our homes happy to greet the sun again
A Cornered Gurl 
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