I have been well-taken-care-of while I have been home sick. Unsurprisingly, Heidi has been practically a saint. She’s offered to make me soup at every interval, pumped me full of orange juice and cold medicines, snuggled me, and made sure I have everything I need. Jennings pitched in and brought me cherry-flavored, zinc-loaded lozenges.

But my real keeper in the last few days has been Kirk. He rarely leaves my side. If I get up to walk into another room, he’s at my feet. He cries when I go inot the bathroom and close the door. When I hopped in the bathtub, he was up on the ledge the whole time. I’ve come down to sleep on the sofa the last few nights so that I could sleep sitting up, and he jumps up and sleeps on my chest. If I lie on the couch, he’s either on my chest, on the pillows behind my head, or under the covers playing with my feet.

Did you ever notice that Game Show Network was made specifically for the days when you’re sick? Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever watched GSN when I was well, but as soon as I am sick and I need something mildly entertaining that doesn’t require me to string together coherent thoughts. (From David Parker: “TS Eliot was asked why he played Soliatire, and he replied, ‘Well, I guess it’s the closest thing to being dead.’ That’s you and your Game Show Network.”)