The time is upon us once again! In a couple of days I'm hoping to meet many of my online friends at BYU Women's Conference, where I will be speaking in the Smith Fieldhouse at 2:00 on Thursday. However, in an astonishing stroke of poor timing, I have somehow caught a serious bummer of a cold. I managed to escape the whole winter without even the hint of a cold, even as colleagues and family members around me were succumbing to viruses left and right. I smugly congratulated myself on having gotten my flu shot, and dispensed sympathy and chicken soup where appropriate. And then, when spring finally showed its head, the cold found me.

I don't so much mind having the cold. We've been together for a week now, and have settled into the congenial sort of companionship where I cough when I need to and reserve the medical remedies for night, when I need to sleep anyway. Cold medicines that work make me loopy. Cold medicines that don't make me loopy don't seem to do anything else for me either.

So I won't be imbibing any cold remedies beyond the occasional menthol cough drop on Thursday. And frankly,  the thought of breaking into a coughing fit in front of thousands of women has me a little nervous.

So if you happen to have a prayer to spare, please send one up for me that I won't embarrass myself and offend my listeners Thursday afternoon. And come say hello!