Pneumonia Phenomenon

I remember learning to spell these two words. Fifth grade? And I remember not fully grasping the meaning of either one at the time. Well, I understand pneumonia pretty well now. I never knew that it hurt. And that it can hurt not in your lungs, but in other places. I had such a terrible pain in my side, it woke me up.  I thought I broke a rib. I immediately got a massage which helped for five minutes. The doctors checked me for stroke, heart attack, all the acute creepy stuff. And Allison held me and reminded me to breathe through what seemed like the birth of five children until they could get enough pain killer in me. No fun! Allison has always managed to be with me at all these crucial moments. She was with me when my mother died.

 So after three days of morphine, I can't stop slurring my words. Which is then making me laugh. But while doctors were trying to diagnose to figure out what I have, I couldn't laugh. I had to keep a straight face and try not to react to Allison and Andy's jokes. While they were hooting and howling, I had to envision the moon reflecting on a calm pond.  I'd look at the clock and it'd be 12:10 and then I'd look again after trying so hard not to laugh, and it would be 12:11. Time went so slow! I felt like I'd been banned from my favorite watering hole: The Fountain of Comedy! I also hadn't realized how addicted I'd become to humor. A laugh addict. I think I spend most of my time trying to crack myself up. And of course my friends and family just chime in when they can.  It really works for me. It's quite a phenomenon! So when the Pneumonia vs. Phenomenon games began, it was clear it was going to be a tough match, but I knew that the Laughers would win in the end. I might be feeling some post-game injuries, but really, in the end, pneumonia is just a chest infection where freedom to laugh...that's a phenomenon!