Cough, sneeze, sniffle, repeat.

Five days before Christmas. As I type, my husband is at the supermarket shopping for groceries. With the magic of cell phones, I can explain to him that our oldest cat doesn't like the chopped or grilled meats and fish offered by Fancy Feast... Mickey needs the 'classic' Fancy Feast, which sort of looks like baby food. "These cats are spoiled," said my husband over the phone. (As if anyone in this house is not spoiled?)

I've been fighting this cold since the day after our Christmas party last weekend.  I usually just ignore a cold and go on with my days and get as much done as possible. I'm not one to hide under the covers when I'm not feeling well, unless I have a fever which gives you no choice. No fever, so far. And if the Christmas gods are kind to me, this fever-less state will continue.

My husband told me this morning that I go overboard with the holidays, which gets me sick. Me? Overboard? I think not. I just try to make every holiday especially nice, and that goes double and triple for Christmas. And I start so early with Christmas.... shopping all year long, wrapping gifts in September, packing them up in mailing boxes in October, decorating the house the first week of November, and mailing the gifts out to family in late November. By the time everyone else starts thinking about Christmas, our house has already been decorated and I've already bought a few gifts for next Christmas.

But... here I am.... cough, sneeze, sniffle. Repeat.

And my husband has been in the supermarket for less than half an hour and has called me three times. He said he doesn't mind grocery shopping. "I hardly ever get to do this," he told me early this morning. "Give me a list and I'll get everything we need. And I can go back on Monday if you think of something else."

My husband is so spoiled. Every once in a while, I have to get sick just so he can enjoy the thrill of grocery shopping.