Day Two

We drove across Wyoming in mid-January back in 2021. The snow blasted across the road in front of us as we inched slowly across the massive patches of ice. Vehicles were zooming past us. That same day, we counted six semis overturned by the inland hurricane winds ripping across the land. We vowed we would never travel through Wyoming during the winter months again.

But here I am. This is it. This is where it all ends.

Somehow, I’m lying on the icy tundra of a wintry Wyoming. I’m wrapped in a thick blanket. It’s guarding against the 50-mile-per-hour sub-zero wind that is howling around me. The cold is working its way into my innermost being. And it feels like a horse has kicked me in the stomach.

Then I wake up in my bed. My side of the bed is positioned beneath the ceiling-mounted vent. All I have to do is move over three feet. Dreams get weird during sickness. Meanwhile, my fever has worked its way beyond the 101-degree mark. It’s currently 99 degrees outside with a heat advisory for our county. Still, I can’t get warm enough. The teeth and joints are screaming at me again.

“I can’t turn off the air-conditioning just because I’m freezing,” I mutter as I army-crawl to the wall that holds the thermostat. “But we can live in a balmy 80 degrees for a while.” As I press the red arrow pointing up, there’s a distinct clicking noise. Who needs max A/C in a heat advisory anyway.

That will be much better. Then I realize that I’m moving back toward the bed without trying. It may have something to do with this shivering fit I’m having. “No, babe! It isn’t an earthquake. I’m just shivering.” Ah, it feels good to be alive!

I woke up this morning feeling fine. Thanks to the particular dose of medicine I took the night before that packs a punch like Muhammed Ali. As the day progressed and the medicine wore off, I realized I was still not well. The fever returned, the chills started chilling, and the aching settled back into its former residence in my joints. My lungs began to hurt so much that I had trouble talking. I was working, but I messaged my Supervisor stating I needed to clock out.

I immediately returned to bed, wrapped myself in the blanket, and tried to wish the warmth into existence.
That’s when the dream sequence in Wyoming began.

After I woke up, I went outside. I was thinking that the 99-degree heatwave we were having would succeed in warming me up. Well, it’s a good thing we have aloe vera lotion. I’ll add that to my daily regimen. Meanwhile, I’ll take more knockout medicine.

Thankfully, the children are feeling better! Hopefully, Cheery won’t get sick. Pray hard, folks!

The good news from all this is I can sing bass now. At least until the mucus clears up…

to those who need some extra time,
– Caleb