The day started out just fine. It had stopped raining and glimpses of sunshine were promised. I’d been bored all week; the stamp store was calling.

So I zipped up to Burlington, picked up a few (too many!) new stamps, with Easter cards in mind. I spent a couple of hours at the store wandering and chatting with the owner and one of the women who works there. I got some very lovely floral stamps that were 20% off, making them in a price range I could justify. There are three lines of stamps that I especially like, but that are outrageously expensive, so this discount spurred on my purchases.

I left the store to head to the mall. I hadn’t been to the Burlington Mall since sometime last summer (I think when R.J. first moved back to the area) so I thought it might be fun to wander. Besides which I was desperately thirsty and had developed a dry nagging cough.

So I stopped and got a hot dog and a root beer and then went shopping. But I didn’t buy a thing. After about an hour I felt like I was running out of gas, my throat was dry and irritated again, so I’d decided that I’d had enough and should go home.

I stopped to get an iced mocha at Au Bon Pain and hit the highway. I got home at about four.

By 4:05 I felt like crap.

I parked on the sofa and didn’t even have the energy to open the bags and look at my stamps. I sat there like a great lump. Gazing at the television screen.

Within an hour I had chills and was hacking like I should be in a t.b. ward.

I should have gone to bed at that point, but I knew I had to be awake for a phone call from the head of the choreography team. She had emailed me earlier in the day because the music committee met last night and decided that part of the front row choreography had to be changed because it was slowing down the music. I had an idea that I thought might work, so she called me to hash it out.

She called just after seven, and we probably talked for a half-hour. By the time the phone conversation ended I was totally chilled and felt as if I was burning up. I took my temp, but it was only about 100.

I crawled into bed and cranked the electric blanket, but couldn’t stop shivering. At 1 a.m. I took my temp again, it was 100.4.

yep, I’m sick alright.