Whispers, Croaks and Baa-aas

I've lost my voice. I've caught a nasty little virus along with two of my kids and my voice was the first thing to go. That would have been sort of okay except that I worked all weekend and I work as a teacher. So, over the course of the weekend I got to shout for hours so that classes could listen to me croak at a low-to-medium volume through my material.  Fortunately, knitters are, by and large, among the nicest people on earth, so everyone was very gracious about it. Plus it was at the MD Sheep and Wool Festival that I was teaching, which is one of my favorite places in the world. I broke my rule for my annual t-shirt. I'm a serious collector, so I couldn't really have a blank spot. (It did feel really weird to spend money on something other than groceries, actually) By the way, these aren't mine, they were on display at the festival. I have way more than this.

But, all things considered, I'm really glad that tonight has finally arrived. It has been an intense couple of weeks with two major teaching gigs in a row along with all the preparation and everything in between. I'm whipped. Tomorrow is a nothing day. I will thrill to my little email from google calendar at 5:19 that says, "You have no events scheduled today."  Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything, which is always a possibility, but I don't think I have.

Now that I'm home trying to rest, my normal speaking voice comes out as a full whisper-no sound at all, and it's always funny when this happens (I get laryngitis fairly regularly) because the kids start whispering back and the house gets very quiet. I can't yell from upstairs that I need someone or something so I have to go to them and they have to come to me. I always find myself wondering why I so quickly go back to yelling for them after my voice is recovered. Maybe this time will be different, but I doubt it. 

So tomorrow I'll rest and drink lots of fluids and check my temperature. The kids are still running at about 99 degrees each, but both of them are begging me to go to school tomorrow. It seems weird, that two teenagers should beg to go to school,  but they have been sick since Saturday and are feeling quite claustrophobic in the house, plus they both have tests and such tomorrow. It's always a hard decision once they get into middle and high school. I on the other hand have also been sick since Saturday but have hardly been home. So, I am looking forward to being in all day, regardless of my temperature. So, don't call me unless you need a good laugh. I won't be able to make myself understood on the phone, but I'll sound hilarious if I make the attempt.