Due to one horrendous head cold, the new year did not start for me until Epiphany (January 6). It all began with a bit of chest congestion, resulting in discrete coughs at the New Year’s Eve party. It fooled nobody.

My head filled up with fluid, which I do not have to describe. You’ve all been there. Eyeballs seemed twice their usual size and squeezed out tears that ran down my face. That pressure, of course, caused the brain to go totally stupid for days on end. The periods of waking were scattered throughout daylight and darkness. Explosive sneezes, properly focused, could have tunneled through a North Carolina mountain. Amplified coughs would have made an excellent fog horn on the coast. My lungs produced sounds like an out-of-tune calliope. I could have played a very sad tune with them.

John was smart. (Say in a posh English accent), “He went to his club for the duration.” The train club in Tennessee was already on the calendar, but he was fortunate to miss the worst of my debilitation.

There was measurable progress when I moved the tissue box from my lap and would venture five feet away from it. The brain was what I missed most. It finally went from the speed of stupid to merely “slow”. When I considered myself almost well, I lost cream cheese I took out of the refrigerator. I left Greek yogurt in the laundry room, rescued by John.

Grandson David did what he could to help, but he was working most of the time. It was son John $pencer who took care of me and kept the household running during the worst of this monster cold. He cooked for himself and David, and he kept the kitchen clean. Marvelous! I have only one photo to show for it. $ made himself and me a breakfast burrito that was hearty, attractive, and good for us. He knew I couldn’t taste it at all, but it did clear my sinuses for a while!

I lost a week, but that’s not all I lost! I now weigh less than at the beginning of Fat Season (Thanksgiving through January 1). Don’t get excited; it was ounces, not pounds. Considering I usually gain five pounds in that period, I’m way (weigh) ahead of the game this year.

The day I figured I would survive, I saw a lovely bow in the sky. There was neither rain nor snow where I was standing, but the sun shone on clouds to make a rainbow or snowbow.