My allergy appointment didn’t go as well as I had hoped. As the nurse was removing the tape off my back, she commented several times about how red I was. From the tape. And when the doctor saw me, he said my skin’s reaction to the tape was so overpowering that he couldn’t get a good read on the actual spots they were testing me for, so I have to go back in tomorrow morning. Isn’t that some dumb luck–reacting to the hypoallergenic tape. I knew my skin was sensitive, but geez. I just hope something else actually shows up. Otherwise, I’m back to square one. I am thankful that my eyes haven’t swollen shut in a couple of weeks. They’ve gotten a little puffy every day, but I discovered that over-the-counter allergy eye drops help alleviate that. I guess I’m also thankful that I didn’t react to everything. I know people who have allergies to numerous things, both environmental and food, and it’s miserable for them. I’m just looking to solve the mystery of my swollen eyes and call it good. Maybe need to avoid one thing. Wouldn’t it be great if, knowing we couldn’t avoid all issues, we could at least choose the parameters of our problems? So if I have to be allergic to something, could it be something simple, like stuffed animals? I’d avoid them. Never buy them. Wouldn’t have them in my house. I could live just fine without stuffed animals. Or eggplant. It actually does bother me, so I avoid it. Eggplant isn’t something that shows up randomly in food dishes. It’s in eggplant parmigiana and ratatouille. It’s not accidentally in my Caesar salad because of cross-contamination. I’ve lived most of my life without randomly crossing paths with eggplant. But I know that’s all wishful thinking. We can’t really control what problems we encounter unless it’s ones of our own making. So if something shows up tomorrow or doesn’t show up, I’ll deal with it. And be thankful that in the grand scheme of life issues, it’s a small one.