Some Like It Hot

For some, summer brings outdoor adventures, sunning on the beach, and freedom from the wintertime imprisonment of the house. For some, summer brings allergies, constant snuffling into a tissue, and sneezing everywhere. I am one of the latter.

I have chosen to live in a house with cats* and in the summer, when the temperatures soar into triple digits, the cat fur flies and the dander is everywhere. Ragweed explodes. With every good summer rain, more tree pollen enters the atmosphere. These allergens, in addition to regular everyday dusts and creatures of the Earth, cause my nose to explode in snot, my eyes to turn a lovely shade of red, and my entire body to be on the verge of a sneeze at any given moment.

I was told that my allergies would get better as I got older, but this year I actually had to go on inhalable steroids. In addition to a regular regimen of antihistamines and eye drops, I sniff crap up my nose every single day. This is seasonal, but if you consider that the seasons in which these allergens require me to be medicated are spring, summer, and fall, you can quickly understand why I look forward to winter with an all-consuming yearning.

The night I reached the conclusion that Biker Boy really honestly cared about me was the THIRD night in a row that I woke Biker Boy up to crawl out of bed to get to some tissues. Once the tissues were procured, I proceeded to wheeze for an hour before the allergy attack left and I was once more dead to the world in sleep. Three nights the boy put up with his sniffling girlfriend waking him up with a (very sexy) red nose, saying in the stuffiest voice possible, “I think I snotted on your pillow.”

His only comment: “Should you be on additional medication?”

*Before I lived with these cute cats, I would go to Pet Smart and cry at the cats in the cages. Seriously. Every weekend. So I take the allergies so that I don’t have to put up with the pining for a pet. Now, some people (BB included) think that this is silly. But the one time someone went to a Pet Smart with me and saw the crying was not a silly time. I’m just saying. This is my rationale for living with cats, animals that make me sneeze more than cockroaches.