Today's post is sponsored by the letter P

Chances are, if you live anywhere in the south, you've no doubt noticed the temperatures creeping up, the flowers in bloom....and the ubiquitous yellow-green dust that ends up caking your car each day. Hooray! It's pollen season!

Yes, that lovely time of the year that wreaks havoc on your sinuses, rendering even the strongest individuals into sneezing, sniffling, sickly looking people, who can only meekly smile as they blow into their tissue, assuring you, "It's just my allergies."

My family does battle with this springtime annoyance each year and I'm guessing lots of other families deal with it too (since I had to go to six stores last weekend before I found ONE with only a generic form of children's Zyrtec on the shelf!) Although my car is parked in our garage most of the time, it's literally covered in that fine, filthy film at the end of each day. So, it got me thinking, since I'm outdoors occasionally, just as my car is, just how much pollen am I getting doused with each day?

It turns out, it might be quite a bit.

Each time we spend time outside during high pollen count days (especially in the early morning or late afternoon when counts are highest), we trek in copious amounts of the allergen on our shoes, clothing and hair. If you have a dog or a cat, they're also bringing unwanted pollen spores into your home. Allergists recommend those of us who are sensitive to pollen take several steps to minimize our exposure in our homes and avoid going outside as much as possible on days when the pollen count is particularly troublesome.

Some of the safeguards are frankly just not practical -- such as wearing a face mask when I'm out. I don't consider myself vain and I'm all about avoiding as much of the pollen as possible, but I must draw the line at anything that remotely resembles an impersonation of Michael Jackson. The same goes for showering as soon as I get home each day. Great idea. But then, who will cook dinner for the kids and get them to bed (and bathed to wash them of pollen) on time? Does changing my pillowcase on a regular basis count for something?

I can manage to remove my shoes when I enter the house, and while I'm all about saving energy and helping the environment, I refuse to line-dry my laundry since that would literally be a magnet for the icky stuff that permeates the air much of the year around here. And unfortunately -- like the Thought Police in 1984, even when you can't see it, pollen may very well be there.

We rarely open windows at the height of allergy season, opting instead to let the A/C and air purifiers work their magic. I do wear sunglasses most days, though this is honestly due to the actual sun, not the helpful byproduct of the glasses keeping pesky spores out of my eyes.

But even as paranoid and careful as we are, there is simply no way to avoid pollen, short of moving to Norway or Sweden, where the pollen count is apparently very, very low.

So for now, if you run into me or my kids and our eyes are a bit watery, our noses a bit runny, don't assume we're contagious. But if my hair has a green tinge to it, please let me know that a shampoo might be a bit overdue.