Well, this will be short. I've got an 8:00 appointment, so I only have about ten minutes to whip out this journal entry.

Matt took Penny to the doctor yesterday because we were worried that her cold was moving into her lungs.

The doctor said no, it's just that when she's that congested, we can feel the rattle of her breathing in her chest. It's not actually in her lungs. So that's the good news.

The bad news is that she's got an ear infection. Correction: She's got two ear infections, one in each ear.

Which surprised the hell out of me. I used to get a lot of ear infections as a kid. I mean all the time. They hurt like a sumbitch - well, at least they hurt me. Penny doesn't seem to be the least bit bothered by her pair of infections. She's spent the last few days with rough breathing and an ugly-sounding cough, but aside from being a little sleepier than usual (a common reaction to being sick) she's been more or less her usual happy self.

They don't hurt everyone. There's a woman in my office with a one-year-old boy, and she says that they don't bother him any, either - they just make his balance all wonky. She detects the infection not by his crying and pulling at his ears (which is what the books say kids will do when they have an ear infection) but because he suddenly loses the ability to stand and walk, or starts veering into walls for no apparent reason.

So I guess we lucked out, and ear infections are only a minor annoyance for Penny. That'd be nice. Along with teething pains, it's one of those things that just about every parent has to endure at one time or another.

And now it's time for my meeting. (And now you know how much I can write in 10 minutes.)

--Liz