Spring is my favorite season with the annual reawakening of plant life from its sleepy winter stupor. Nature’s palette presents pictures Monet would proudly boast that he’d painted.

I love and hate spring at the same time. Chalk it up to allergies that ushered themselves into my body this past 72 hours.

Spring is a time when my body surrenders to the attack of winter mould, and the eruption of pollen with spring rains and warmer temperatures. Spring was officially ushered in our neighborhood yesterday as street cleaners dusted off the debris of winter in front of our house.

Today, my body is reacting to spring. It’s having a hard time fighting off the invasion of histamines that are determined to make me miserable with the arrival of my yearly seasonal allergies. Spring allergies suck!

Spring is the time of the year where stores can’t keep enough tissue on hand. Household garbage cans overflow quickly with soggy nose wipes. Stocks are rising across the land as stores struggle to keep tissues in stock for people like me.

The allergies mimic colds, but they’re not colds. As my kids would say when they were young: “I feel yucky.” Perhaps my body just can’t fight them off this year as its battling a bigger enemy in fighting cancer and recovering from surgery.

Grab the tissue. Sneeze, sneeze, sneeze. Blow the nose. It’s been blown so much that it’s red and sore. Then there’s the scratchy, itchy throat, watery eyes, and coughs. Then there’s the aches that come with sneezing, coupled with the residual effects of breast cancer surgery and sore chest muscles. My allergies are winning the war for attention with my body today. As a result of this duel, I’m more tired today.

Did I mention the upside of spring allergies? I end up with a sexy, raspy voice that comes with my allergies. Men like hearing this voice on the other end of the phone line. I laugh every time this happens.

Allergies and low voices take me back to a time when I was a radio and television reporter early in my communications career. Women like me with naturally low voices were always in demand by men who ran newsrooms in the 1980’s. You have to trust me on this one--I could write a news story. Actually I wrote many news stories in my print and broadcast career. It wasn’t just my voice and tall slender body that got me those reporter and newsreader jobs! Honest…

Relief will be welcomed in the next 48 hours. My breast cancer nurse told me that I could take some anti-histamines. Breathing and sleeping will get better as the drugs kick in.

I sneeze on. The cancer battle continues with Strength, Courage and Determination.