The Poop Eye

For the past several weeks, I've been waking up feeling like I slept face down in a sand box. My eyes have been red, itchy, watery, and they burn even when I get in the shower. I've been consistently punishing the culprit--Gwen, our tiny feline matriarch who has made her nest atop my squishy down pillow.

We made a new rule for the big bed: no kitties on the pillows. They can sleep anywhere in the range from chest to feet, but nowhere north of there. And I've been pretty diligent in enforcing the new regulations. Each night, I awake at least twice, and though I hate to do it--I have to move Gwen in the middle of her furry slumber. She squaks, I apologize... it's a regular round table of nightly arguing.

Gradually, the pillow nesting wore down a bit, and though K's eyes have cleared up, mine continued to burn. I got so used to it that I stopped noticing. When I went to the mitten for Christmas, I stopped into my eye doctor to get a new prescription for my contacts. And that's when I found out... that I had the poop eye. Okay, it's not really poop eye, just a "cold" really, but that's what K is calling it.

It wasn't just allergies to the kitties; in fact, I may have been punishing Gwen for no reason, though I'm sure her sleeping on or near my face didn't help the situation. My doctor asked how long I've been dealing with it. I told him for quite some time, and that it was because my cat slept on my pillow a lot. He shook his head, telling me that it was quite something else, and prescribed two sets of eyedrops for my condition. Two sets? That sounds pretty serious.

So for the entire week I spent in the mitten, I had to pull out the old goggles. I was on a strict no contact lens diet. This means all Christmas photos were in my glasses, every time I saw old friends, I had to do it in my glasses, and I won't even mention trying to drive at night with these damn things.

Now, I'm back home and Gwen seems to have forgotten the rules. I had to relocate her twice last night, and my eyes are starting to burn again. I'm starting to think that she's sleeping with her butt right on my eyeballs. I'm going to give it a few days of reminding her of the rules, and (STILL) wearing these glasses... then we'll see how the poop eye develops.