The Good News Is...

...it's not peaches.

As far as we can tell, my rash that mysteriously popped up in the early morning hours on Monday was not because of the peaches I consumed on Sunday.

The bad news is...

...we know this because I broke out in a rash again last night, the worst that it's been; and I hadn't eaten any peaches at all yesterday (even though Mother and I canned 14 quarts of them; and let me tell ya, it's agony to be canning peaches and not even allow oneself to have a single tiny bite!). In addition, I haven't eaten any peaches today, but tonight my rash is worsening.

The other good news is...

...because our scientific guess is that it's NOT because of peaches, I will now allow myself to freely consume them. Ah, bliss! I think I shall start at breakfast, when I shall pile them in a large heap on top of my cereal.

The other bad news is...

...we still have no convincing theory about what IS causing the rash. If not peaches, what?? Cucumbers from our garden (since I recently started eating them for the first time this year)? Something the farmers are spraying on the fields that the night air is bringing in the windows? A new substance in the milk we drink? The new allergy medicine that I started taking about two weeks ago (and have since stopped)? What???

So, even though it's frustrating to not be able to solve this mystery quickly, I'm still happy about one thing: at least I can eat peaches!! :)

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I'm so grateful for the kind, understanding responses to my last post. To tell you the truth, I woke up in the night troubled by the way I had poured out my complaints; and I had almost decided to get up and delete that post. I don't want to have an ungrateful, whiny spirit. I want to shoulder hardship with graceful determination. But I was having a difficult time doing that (obviously), and my soul was so refreshed today by reading the thoughtful comments that were left (and others that were spoken to me)...so in the end, I was glad that I left the post on the blog instead of removing it.

It feels good to know that I'm not alone in this difficulty; others have experienced (and are experiencing) it. It feels good to have a plan; Shav's cup of water is nearby, and if he wakes and cries in the night, Jeff will go to him and offer a drink. Most of all, it feels good to have hope. This too shall pass. Thanks for reminding me of that.