'Tis the Season

A plethora of pumpkins populate the pathways provided by purveyors of produce, and a hundred thousand Santas are lurking in the bushes behind them, ready to pounce. It's the final quarter of the year, and our senses are assaulted with displays of seasonal symbolism. Along with gobs of gourds, we see lots of leaves, baskets of berries, and scads of skeletons. All these are indicators that the growing season has ceased, and that harvests have happened. Dracula and Frankenstein are not the only examples of the dead among us...the trees, bushes, and lawns that were so recently lush and abundant are suddenly withered and dry.

To most people, this imagery only means one thing -- shopping season! Time to buy candy, then cranberries, and then finally socks, ties, and Nintendo cartridges. The coming days are filled with opportunities for parties, decorating, and copious chances for conspicuous consumption.

But to me, there are other harbingers of the season. All that dead stuff falling off the trees and flaking from the bushes has impacts beyond visual aesthetics. It also means that people like me will experience certain unpleasant nasal conditions caused by our allergies to airborne particulates. I won't go so far as to claim that I have "Hay Fever", since that would imply sneezing fits, runny noses, and a dependence on Benadryl...and I have none of these. What I am experiencing though (as I do every year) is the tendency to wake up during the night because my nose is clogged up.

I'm very grateful that my autonomous monitoring systems choose to interrupt my sleep rather than allow me to completely run out of oxygen. But still, it would be better to somehow sleep through the entire night rather than waking up at 1:30am sounding like Henry Kissinger. Fortunately, the problem is usually solved with some vigorous nasal exhalation along with the dampening and encrustation of a couple of generic facial tissues. With my nose thoroughly blown, I am usually able to go right back to sleep.

My work may suffer because of these seasonal clogs -- I do tend to get a little sleepy in the middle of the workday. But I suppose it's better than being one of those folks who wakes up in the middle of the night because they think they hear brain-munching zombies shuffling beneath their windowsills. My neighborhood may have too many yappy dogs and partiers who clomp up the stairs in the wee hours, but as far as I know, there has never been a plague of reanimated corpses. When I am asleep, I sleep quite well, thank you.

And the good news is that the nose-blowing season usually only lasts a few weeks. Once we get a few good snowstorms under our belts, whatever it is that I'm reacting to seems to get knocked out of the sky. So, about the time people start adorning their windows with "Peace on Earth" tinsel, I'll be back into "Peace in My Condo" mode. Between now and turkey time, though, please forgive me if I seem a bit rest-deprived and/or grumpy. It's seasonal, and it'll pass.

Thanks for you understanding. Enjoy your pumpkins, cornucopiai (is that the plural?), and turkeys, etc. May your breathing passages remain clear and your neighborhood be unafflicted with the undead. Enjoy your candy corn, my friends, and have a great day!