Modern Life with Tick Removal

My spouse started his day by pulling a tick out of the back of my knee--we're romantic that way.  I was sitting at my desk and felt a weird bump, which I assumed was a new skin growth, which I assumed would mean a trip to the dermatologist when I saw it was black.  And then I saw legs on either side.

It took some effort to see the tick, so I decided to wake up my spouse to get his help.  He was calm, as he almost always is in a medical situation, in most situations.  The tick came out easily, and I smushed it in a piece of paper and then put tape over it.  I've read that the body might be needed for testing, if I develop any symptoms.

I'll be on the lookout for a bull's-eye rash.  I'll also be on the lookout for other symptoms of Lyme Disease.  I'm already feeling chills, because I'm suggestible that way.

I will also look at my body more carefully and have my spouse check my scalp.  

In some ways, I'm a bit freaked out.  I've managed to get through my 61 years without ever having a tick.  In other ways, I shrug.  I live in a place with lots of trees and undergrowth, so in many ways, it's to be expected.

I planned to write about my delightful day yesterday.  I was staying with a grad school friend in Columbia, SC, and we went to the Gourmet Shop in Five Points for early lunch/late breakfast.  The place was draped in French flags, and all the workers had jaunty neck scarves, and a few wore berets.

How wonderful to be in a place that celebrates Bastille Day!  I had a goat cheese, pesto, and tomato panini with a cup of tomato bisque.  I took advantage of a Bastille Day sale and bought 3 bottles of wine for later.

We spent the rest of my birthday eating leftover pizza with the wine and bits of birthday cake I brought home.  I had a phone call from an old friend from Trident Tech and Mepkin days whom I hadn't talked to in many years--what a treat!

And now, back to regular life.  I'll go for a walk and later, coffee with a neighborhood friend.  I'm doing a day of mail delivery duty today and then quilting at the local Lutheran church.  So, it's not all regular life--regular life will be some grading and bill paying and maybe some of the writing that needs to be done soon:  sermon writing and my Paul paper and my Candidacy writing project.