dodged THAT bullet

A few weeks ago Audrey and I both got something called Fifths disease. If you don't have kids, it's one of those things that just goes around schools and every kid that hasn't already had it, gets it. Pretty much harmless. Your kid may have a little fever for a day or so, then about a week later they get this crazy looking rash on their cheeks. They look like you've slapped them. Always nice for a parent. Well, if you're an adult who gets it the web sites say you might get "some" joint pain and swelling. I had a bit more than some - but it passed and it wasn't that bad. My friend Sara's husband Scott was not so lucky. Sara told me over a cocktail that Scott's hands looked like clubs from the swelling and that his feet, and I quote, looked like "pork chops with toes". He missed an entire week of work and needed help with everything. So, in hindsight, though I did not enjoy having a strange looking rash and feeling generally sore and yucky, it could have been much worse. There's always a bright side, eh?