It's been very quiet in our apartment.

Well this is another picture from the aquarium, but it's funny because that's just how I have felt since Friday. I woke up with a slight tickle in my throat but no resemblance of any kind of cold or flu. I tried to brush it off and ignore it, but when my voice was a few octaves lower by Friday afternoon and pretty much gone by the night, I assumed Laryngitis paired with an annoying chest cough had kicked in full swing.

This is a common occurrence for me. A few of you may know the story of me being in a spelling bee in 4th grade with Laryngitis and being laughed at because I could barely say my name to introduce myself. So being the sensitive 10 year old that I was, I cried and my mom took me off the stage and I went home. My mom put Elise (Lili) and me in speech therapy to learn how to take care of our sensitive voices. We learned not to make loud outbursts at all, and to keep our vocal chords nodule and callus free.

But I think the latest instance of Laryngitis was due to allergies mixed with winter weather, so I don't think it's my fault from any loud outbursts. It's just something that happens a couple times per winter. So KC has been answering my phone, and whispering with me, even though he can speak just fine. And my friend Courtney kindly volunteered to lead the primary in the songs but I did hold up the pictures for the kids to learn the song. It was so nice to not have to try to do all the necessary talking and singing that comes with the job.

Now my voice is almost back, and sometimes I forget I don't have to whisper, though it still feel a little better since there is still a little strain on my voice to speak. The few days seemed so long that I was even beginning to wonder what is was like back in the day when I could talk normally. But I'm sure it gave others around me a break from my usually overly-talkative self. Oh well, I'm back.