Tax season is over. The winter blues are melting. The Cleveland air is rich with baseball, lake winds, and the faint smell of tulips. Ahh, the blessings of spring.

There’s one tiny little hitch in spring: I go into hibernation every May.

Once the temps start going consistently in the 60s and 70s or even punch mildly into a soft 80 degrees, the new plants and allergens send me running for the hills. The problem is my asthma is so bad, I can’t breathe deep enough to even make it to the hills. Eh, every year I vow to suck it up, but every year I end up making a huge fuss and wheeze for a month and half in Nick’s poor, constantly ringing right ear and give him headaches and reminders to shower every night to get the pollen off his skin and hair.

Nick is a morning shower person and hates this cycle.

But, he’s such a good hub that he showers twice a day for me to make sure no pollen enters the house.

So, last night we were eating chicken parmesan and I ask him, “When do we take off these plastic thingys from the windows?”

Nick is chomping through his pasta and with his mouth full slathers out, “Mhm, I don’t know. What do you think?”

“Probably June.”

Nick looks at me like I suggested we should sell our first born for new windows, “Why June?”

“It’ll help keep the pollen out.”

Nick lets out a slow drawn out, “Ohhh yeahhhh…” but it’s in a really deep tone that says he doesn’t approve.

He’s probably thinking of the two-time shower days on the horizon.

“Happy Spring, my love.”