Despite the festivities of St. Patrick Day, which is one of this Irish gal’s favorite holidays, this time of the year is the hardest time to live in Georgia — allergy season.
Sneezing, coughing, running noses and faded voices dominate conversations and leave most everyone living with a perpetual headache.
Since the first bloom, my daughter, Anastasia, and I have had such watery eyes that we must look like a mourning family. My poor little girl sneezes at least 20 times a day. At 4 months, her misery is obvious as she ends each sneeze with a long groan, a drama she gets from her dad, I’m sure.
The only benefit of allergy season in the South is the landscape change. In those little moments when the tears clear and your eyes are not closed to sneeze — It’s impossible to sneeze with your eyes open — take the time to check out the almost fairy tale scenery around you. Few places offer a view so filled with color and beauty. Those allergy-inducing flowers and trees do their best to make up for the trouble they cause with a façade so incredible it’s hard to remember they’re the ones causing your pain.
One thing is certain about spring here. You won’t catch me doing any spring cleaning. Aside from the basic laundry and dishes, I openly avoid the dust bunnies under my furniture and on top of my fan blades. Until this allergy season passes, that’s where they’ll stay. Perhaps I’ll work them into my Easter decorations. Then, once spring is behind us and I can go two hours without sneezing, maybe I’ll think about summer cleaning, maybe.