Gray skies and face masks

There's nothing like waking up in a hotel and feeling as if you were hit by a Mack truck. This morning, I was greeted upon awakening by that sore throat and stuffed head feeling. So lovely. But, oh well - it's boring to talk about feeling sick.

 Also this morning, I woke up in familiar St. Louis fall weather - gray, heavy sky, maybe going to rain, maybe not. I visited one of my favorite private high schools, with its beautiful Spanish mission-style architecture and curated art gallery near the entrance. Last year when I visited, the weather was the same but I was caught in a downpour. The friendly college counselor gave me an old umbrella from lost and found to take with me. The ratty piece of wire and nylon helped keep me relatively dry as I navigated the city for three other high school visits. Wet feet, damp hair, raindrops splotching my professional wardrobe. There's nothing like trying to pull yourself together while your face drips from the elements. I've been lucky so far with my travel season. I'm only two weeks in, but just as I start to collapse from being away, missing my Matthew and feeling disconnected from friends and my city, I get to go home. Traveling alone is a finely-honed skill, though, and one I'm proud to say I've mastered. It comes down to getting enough activity and eating relatively well. Yesterday, for old times sake, I got a Jimmy Johns sandwich and wolfed it down; then, immediately regretted it. I've really taken to the Whole Foods a few interstate exits away - at least I know the options there are delicious and won't make me feel like I ate a brick. Of course, if you feel a little lonely and miss talking to humans who know you, in person, it can all just fall to hell...

If I don't have people to see, I'll find places to have coffee or work on my laptop with the hum of others around me. I also have another slightly more non-husband-approved tendency: shopping. I can't help it. The number of schools I visit compared with number of actual students seen correlates directly with how loudly the local Nordstrom Rack or Sephora calls to me. If I haven't had success at a school or there's a lackluster fair, I somehow manage to fall inside a store and all of a sudden I'm buying the most comfortable sweater and a lipgloss that makes me look older than a current college kid (an important feature if my overall look). Other signs I've hit rock bottom? I zone out while emailing and all of a sudden I'm watching Big Bang Theory or Two and a Half Men...and LAUGHING. Or I start to consider Bravolebrities like Kim Z or NeNe my gal pals. TV binges are okay but it's probably good to break it up with a few phone conversation (ie checking to see if the Huz has fed/watered himself in your absence; checking in with parents when dad is recently retired and all of a sudden decides he's a chef). (PS Big Bang Theory just played a big laugh to a character saying "coccyx" in its plural form...).

That's about all I've got for now. I am being productive: working on eradicating whatever plague has invaded my face pores --

-- which I texted to my parents, eliciting a "oooo SCARY" response from my mom. I need to drink all the water possible to also clear up whatever is also currently taking down my immune system. It's all good, y'all. I got this.