So yesterday afternoon, I was supposed to be on a plane to Springfield, MO, then into a rental car for a two-hour drive to a hotel. After a night there, I was to pop over to a nearby university, give a 90-minute speech, and then get back into the car for the drive to the airport, the flight to DFW, and the flight home.
The angelic Molly, who I’d been working with there, contacted me yesterday morning to reschedule for April. Some massive ice storms were heading in over the Ozarks and they were worried about both my safety as a driver in an unfamiliar area and my being inconvenienced by flight delays. I have never been treated with such thoughtfulness by a client.
And it was just as well…because I’d awoken with a fever, aches, a cough and a sore throat. I’ve worked through much worse things, as we all have. But given a free pass to skip the day’s germ-filled airports / airplanes / rental cars, my body went into overdrive, apparently saying, “Woo-hoo! I finally have time to be sick! BRING IT ON!”
So I spent the day drinking most of a carton of OJ, napping, taking a brutally hot eucalyptus-scented bath, and reading a book through a Nyquil-induced haze that guarantees I won’t remember a thing and it will be good as new the next time I pick it up for a read in the tub.
I thought my fever had broken when I woke up around three a.m. and was freezing, despite my flannel PJs covered in cute little rubber duckies, my plush velour robe, and my giant fluffy pink socks. Alas, it was just a plain old chill - my fever is up to 102 today and I am headed back to bed. We have a performance tomorrow night at the Opera House, and the show must go on!
Hooray for thoughtful people like Molly, and the kind boss who backed up her generous offer. I had always had a soft spot for Missouri (see: Ted Drewe’s Frozen Custard), but now I have one more reason to adore it: good, kind people. Thank you, Molly!