We've entered the pre-Christmas time when everyone begins to eye each other warily, wincing at any sound that vaguely resembles a cough, a sniffle, or a sneeze. Is that tickle in my throat just a random thing or the start of a cold? Is the runny nose because it's really cold outside, or does this mean I'm coming down with something? And it doesn't help when coworkers actually *are* sick, even though they do their very best to stay away from the rest of the office.

So at my office, and at home, and also, I suspect, throughout much of the choir, we are all waging our own little war against the possibility of coming down sick. We are all dropping Airborne tablets in water and swilling down stuff that tastes as if you watered down a bottle of ginger ale. We are washing our hands furiously and clutching bottles of anti-germ hand stuff to apply whenever it looks like it might be necessary.

And we are counting down the days until we can relax and be sick if we are going to be sick, because after all, for some of us it really is inevitable for any holiday season. It's just that maybe, just once, we'd like to postpone the coughing and wheezing and sneezing and stuffed sinuses until *after*.

Happy Holidailies