…and it’s pink.
No, not breast-cancer-awareness pink (ironic when you consider that Susan G. Komen foundation funnels money to Planned Parenthood–and their contraception and abortion industry is linked to higher rates of breast cancer).
Just plain old pink. As in pink-eye.
Don’t worry; I’m not contagious. I am 100% certain that this is an allergic reaction. Unfortunately, I am 0% sure of the cause.
Yesterday I went to my Secular Franciscan meeting about an hour early so I could catalog some new books for the fraternity’s library. When I opened up the meeting room, I could smell something–kind of perfumey, but nothing I could put my finger on. Being asthmatic, I made sure I had my inhaler and worried that as I spent the next few hours in the room, I might need to use it. Then, after looking for candles and plug-in air fresheners and other likely suspects and finding nothing, I opened the 2 small windows that could be opened and got to work.
Within the hour my nose started running. At least that symptom is manageable. Partway through the meeting, my eyes started itching. By the time I locked up the room after the last person left, I looked like I’d spent the entire afternoon crying.
I knew I needed Benadryl, but I had to take Little Brother to a track-and-field awards ceremony last night and was afraid to take Benadryl before driving somewhere, so I toughed it out until I got home. It didn’t do much good; this morning, my eyes are still red and swollen and painful.
It’ll pass. It’s an inconvenience and big discomfort, but it’ll pass. What I really want to know is: what was in that room that caused this?