Finding the One

I examined the shelf purposefully, weighing my options with care. Claritin was once my go-to pill. Claritin-D was like heaven on earth. Then the magic faded. Zyrtec was a lifesaver last year. No more. Benadryl? I can’t even… What about Allegra? I’ve never tried it… Could it be the answer to my springtime suffering was there all along, hiding in plain sight in a demure purple package? Could you be the one, Allegra? Could you be the one?

At the risk of going all “Carry Bradshaw,” I wonder if it’s fair to equate my struggles in finding an effective allergy medicine to the search for love. The two overlap in at least one major way: noticeably diminishing returns. While you may find you can get through one allergy season with ease with the help of loratadine (Claritin’s active ingredient), by the next season you might very likely find that loratadine just doesn’t do it for you anymore. Of course taking some pill is better than taking nothing, but you just don’t get the same relief as you did that last, glorious spring together. Even within the same season you might start to notice a disappointing decrease in effectiveness.

It seems each year I have to find a new fix. Every spring I have to sift through brand after brand, ingredient after active ingredient, trying to find something that could work with my changing immune system.

That might also be my issue with dating. I am not a soul in stasis. I’m 23 years old; my personality, my interests, what I can and can’t tolerate from people, everything is in flux. I may find in someone a love that works for me, but for how long? My opinions often don’t last as long as a utility billing period. The point is the Yvette you meet today is not the Yvette you’ll meet in 6 months, and definitely not the Yvette from 6 months ago.

Maybe it’s just me. I mean, I’m sure I won’t be this way my entire life. I’m just sort of trying on different hats. Grown-ups would say “going through a phase.” Or maybe a series of phases. Anyway, I’m sure there are people who are much more stable, are able to meet someone that works forever. I’m not those people. I don’t know those people.

By the way, I took that Allegra pill and I felt wonderful! It was night and day. My eyes were cleared, my throat healed, and I could finally just breathe. Everything was quite nice for about 3 hours. Then it was slightly less glorious. What can you do, though? Allegra will do for now. Maybe there is another drug as yet undiscovered. Maybe it’s waiting for me. Next year it’ll sit on the shelf in a Walgreen’s or something, next to the Sudafed Sinus & Allergy in a yellow box or something. And it’ll work forever. Or something.