no other way

Being sick on tour sucks. Majorly. I kicked off the tour with what doctors believed was strep (that then moved entirely to my head), and Morgan had the same thing within a day. It was all too easy to complain: being on the road just does not lend itself to doing any of the things that doctors say to do to get over illness. "Drink lots of fluids" gets ruled out when you have a 12 hour trip to do in 10 hours; "get lots of rest" just isn't usually possible with a couch to sleep on and even more to drive the next day.

I was even more frustrated that I perhaps wouldn't enjoy our first-ever East Coast show as much as I might usually, just because I couldn't think of much outside of how annoying my throat, nose and cough were. Etc. Our first show on the East Coast just so happened to be in Newburyport, Massachussetts--about 20 minutes from where I spent the first 8 years of my life. I was quite looking forward to having three of my close friends and workmates see an area of New England none of my other friends have ever seen. But again, sickness sickness sickness. The thought I kept having was "I can imagine how much better this would be if I (and Morgan) weren't sick."

But--and this next thought may seem pretentious--I had a stoner-like revelation on the road the first day. As I was dwelling (as I do) on the annoyance of being sick, a small voice seemed to suggest... "It can be no other way." I thought about that for quite a while. It can be no other way. This was how it was. This is the way things have gone, I got whatever bug I got, and my body would just have to get over it. Things were the way they were. There was absolutely nothing I could do about it, at least in the short term.

That thought gave me a surprising peace. And it's a simple enough thought that I've probably had it before, probably forgot it, and will probably forget it again. But for now, it's brought me a great peace. And the show went incredibly well, and Morgan and I are basically better. And I can't thank God enough for the amazing things we've already experienced, and it's been a week.

I truly love you all.

-mikey