This is heavy-duty allergy season for me. I'm not usually this affected by ragweed, but it's apparently my turn. The part of this that's the biggest nuisance to me is the stuffy ears.

You probably know what I mean---when it's as though you have something stuffed into your ears to keep you from hearing, only you didn't put in earplugs. And this time around I've had a side benefit, a sort of roaring in one ear. It's like having my own private white noise machine, without having to remember to flip the switch.

Having had this ear-roaring before, I'm sure it will go away as soon as the pressure inside my ear rearranges itself. It's not really an earache, and I'm grateful for that.

I've had lots of earaches in my life. And I hate them. Whenever I have one, I want to go back and be a little child and have someone take care of me. I want to have someone bring me a hot-water bottle to rest against, and warm the eardrops if I need them, and make sure I have whatever I want. And somebody to promise me I'll feel better soon.

Since I don't really have an earache this time around, I think I'll just sit quietly and listen to the roar.