The glory of love

My goal this morning was to hold onto a shred of dignity.  I think I did it, but just barely.  Here I am, big and pregnant, and fighting the mother of all colds.  I've had it for a week now, and I'm just not getting better.  I can't take any drugs worth taking, so its been rough going.

As a result of the  cold, my face is chalky white, I have black circles under my eyes, my skin is blotchy (although in fairness this is really from pregnancy!) and my nose is all red from blowing it too much.  Additionally, I hadn't highlighted my hair for two months, so it was half blond and half nasty.  It had also grown out of the cut (not a good idea with short hair), and since I didn't bother to fix it, it was sticking out of my head like bozo the clown.  All in all, I was NOT a pretty picture this morning.

Normally on beauty pageant days such as these I hide at home, but this morning I had my big ultrasound.  Luckily, I didn't have to take children with me, so I was all alone.  The techs made me put on a hospital gown and left me alone in a room on a bed.  I tried to lay down in anticipation of the ultrasound, but every time I did I got so congested I couldn't breathe.  I grabbed a handful of tissues and blew my nose for dear life, but as soon as I laid down, I couldn't breathe again!  I could hardly talk because I was so congested, and every time I tried, I started with the beautiful hacking cough.

I really wondered what the doctor and tech were going to think of me, because I had no dignity left.  As I was laying naked, wearing nothing but the gown, I was hoping that my pregnant body would cooperate with the coughing, and finally decided it was safer to empty my bladder before the ultrasound.  This is how I hung onto only a shred of dignity.

As soon as the ultrasound was done, I made a beeline for the nearest cheap salon to get my hair done.  I don't consider myself a vain person, but laying vulnerable on that table made even me start thinking about how to improve my appearance.  I avoided the mirror all through my hair appointment, but now I feel much better about myself.  If only I had a picture from this morning....