Wine for Coughing

I am sick today, which just stinks. It came out of nowhere this weekend. One second I was fine, the next second I was coughing, coughing, coughing. And this cough is weird. Normally I get a cold first, the usual sniffles and headache before the cough settles in. But this time it seems to be all cough and sore throat, so that I can't talk at all without coughing. It's fun. I have stayed home from my wine class today, which I HATE. Today is our last class on Italy, and then tomorrow is our test.

It's always a difficult decision to make, whether to stay home or not, but I always hate those people who keep going to work when it's obvious to everyone that they should be home in bed. I think people imagine that showing up to work sick is a sign of their dedication and work ethic, when really it's just a sign that they are unthinking dimwits who have just shared their germs, mucus and phlegm with everyone around them and gotten the entire rest of the office sick. Way to go there, Skippy! Plus I always think it's better to rest sooner rather than later, you know, before that cold turns into walking pneumonia.

So a sick day it is today. I seem to be prone to coughs. It's been this way since I was little when I used to get tonsillitis about 15 times a year. My brother , sister and I used to get it all the time, usually at the same time, so my poor mother would be coming around with a tray of Penicillin for all three of her children. That Penicillin is quite the antibiotic. I can't really knock it because, come on, most of us would be dead without it, but man, that stuff stinks. Not only is it horrendous going down (that aftertaste just makes you gag), but it's also nasty coming out. Penicillin pee, there's just no mistaking it, or forgetting it.

The worst part about these coughs I get is how hard they make it to sleep. My coughs are always worse at night, and often times I can't sleep unless I'm sitting up in bed. It's basically like trying to sleep on an airplane, only without the turbulence and persistent airplane fart aromas. And my coughs seem to be worse than a lot of coughs. They render me unable to talk for several days (not from losing my voice, but from the fact that any talking at all just makes me cough harder). And my coughs don't seem to be the normal "cough cough" deal. My coughs seem to be more of the "cough cough cough, gag gag gag" variety.

Unfortunately, cough syrup doesn't seem to do anything. Regular cough syrup that is. When we were kids and up coughing all night, my parents would give us this prescription cough medicine that had codeine in it. This stuff was amazing. It tasted like a shot of vodka, and we had to take it with an entire glass of water. And then we went nighty night.

Before you get up in arms about giving kids codeine, let me just say that that cough syrup was a savior, and was the only thing that allowed us to sleep and actually get better, because let's face it, that cough wasn't doing anybody any favors. I wished I had some last night, when I was sitting up in the living room coughing until 3am because I didn't want to disturb Steve, and I couldn't lie down at all.

So no wine today. Last thing I want to do today is drink. Unless it's a delightful codeine-cough-syrup cocktail. A girl can dream, can't she? Between coughing fits, that is.