Dear Internet,
I hope I continue loving Colorado and the Rockies as much as I do now because I don’t want to make another long-distance move again anytime in the near future.
This hasn’t been a particularly difficult move–just time-consuming, really–and it’s been far, FAR easier than the preceding 7 months of holding down the fort in Florida and trying to sell/rent our house while Mr. Asthma Mom lived with his folks here.
And while packing and getting the house ready for our new tenants, I discovered a few new things about AG’s asthma:
1. The rather spazzy nature of my kid’s lungs this winter so far probably had a lot to do with the mold covering the bottom of her box spring, a discovery I made after dismantling her bed. Seriously. I’m surprised (and grateful) she didn’t end up in the ER this year, and I can safely say mold is one thing we won’t have to worry about here in the dry West. It’s just a guess, but opening our windows to the moisture-laden Gulf Coast air during mild weather probably jumpstarted that mold growth.
Moral of the story: Look under your kid’s bed if you’re trying to identify triggers of nighttime coughing. You just never know what you might find.
2. AG appears to have developed cat allergies sometime in the last year, evidenced by an hour-long severe flare at my sister’s house two nights before we left Florida. My sister has one cat, and after driving away from her house it took my kid four puffs of the quick-relief inhaler and a shower to wash off the dander before she stopped coughing.
Further evidence for a cat allergy? The next day at her skating party, AG flared not at all despite high activity + excitement, a combination that usually sends her over the bronchial edge. As soon as she sat down in the car we drove home from my sister’s the night before, though, the severe coughing started up yet again. She’s been flare-free ever since we vacuumed the car upholstery – on the trip itself, in a hotel room in the middle of north Texas, and now here in drier, colder air at high altitude.
Moral of the story: Just because your asthma kid has never had pet allergies doesn’t mean she never will.
Even playing in the snow hasn’t set her off. In fact, the Denver area seems beneficial for her lungs so far, though I am of course very cautiously optimistic.
As for me.
It’s even more gorgeous out here than I thought last summer, and that’s just one item on the Denver = Awesome list. I’ll save the full list for another post altogether, but for now, check out the view at the end of my street:
Right now, I’m off to:
A) Finish getting the house set up.
B) Contact my freelance clients.
C) Prep drafts so I can resume regular posting.
D) Search for/send resumes to full-time job postings, which may eventually alter “C” above.
E) Catch up on all your news.
Love,
Your Favorite and Newly Colorado-Based Asthma Mom
Wow! That is a great view! Glad to hear things are working out so well!
Wow…From sunshine to snow. I think you’ll like your new town. btw….whats the altitude where you are?
Great to have you back!
Beautiful view. Looks like you’ve made a good move. Congrats!
Thanks, all. We’re slowly digging out–not from snow, but from all these boxes, lol.
Steve, the altitude in my area (I’m in the metro area but not in Denver proper) is 5,389 feet. We’re all fine so far, but I was tempted to snag AG’s quick-relief inhaler while moving furniture upstairs in this altitude!
So good to have you back! I hope the altitude remains good for AG and I hope there’s not a cat in your future!