Gesundheit!

Coughing, sneezing, sniffling. Ugh. Worst cold of the century. I brought it home from work and passed it around.

“Thanks for sharing,” my girl choked out yesterday in the middle of another coughing fit. I smiled in spite of my misery. I know how to share – I took Sharing Class.

I love all animals. I used to volunteer at the Jacksonville Zoo, was working to get my exotic pet license, and wanted at least one of every kind of animal on the planet. I eventually got over the need-to-own-them-all thing, but barely.

A couple of years ago we lived in a condo and had no pets. My then-eight-year-old-daughter REALLY wanted a kitten. And a puppy. My girl’s ex had kept her dog (named Coon) for her when she moved out, and was willing to give up custody, and we were all excited to be getting him “back”. Thrown into the deal was a little grey kitten named Max. I had met them both, and was in love. I jokingly insisted they were going to be MINE. My daughter took exception to this display of greed and sentenced me to Sharing Class. My laughing girl backed her up 100%. “Yeah, you need Sharing Class.” They laughed and laughed and laughed. Brats.

So Sharing Class commenced that evening on our patio, with my daughter as Teacher, my girl as Best Student and me as Bad Girl. As Bad Girl, I was required to sit quietly in Time Out and listen to the (rambling) lecture given by the Teacher, while Best Student was awarded Recess. That Time Out happened to be in my favorite chair and Recess happened to be in the tight corner between the upright freezer and the brick wall escaped neither student, although the teacher seemed unaware of the irony. Suffice it to say, I smiled a lot (gloating but hiding it…from Teacher, anyway) and passed the class with flying colors.

“Thanks for sharing” always makes my stingy self smile.

*GRIN* You’re welcome.

(Original photo by ghindo, some rights reserved.)