Why the Mask?

Yesterday I posted the this picture of me on the http://www.facebook.com/coolsciencedad Facebook page.

Why?  

So why am I wearing the hat, glasses, and mask?  This has been a very tough summer for me when it comes to mowing my lawn.  I've always struggled somewhat with allergies, but this year has been particularly bad.  There have been several times this year where after mowing the lawn my allergies flared up big time.  So bad in fact that after mowing, the only thing I could do was lie on the couch for the rest of the day.  Doing anything else caused constant sneezing and a constantly runny nose.  None of the over the counter allergy medications did anything. Even taking medication before mowing did nothing. I can't even imagine how many tissues I used on those days.  

Yesterday I decided to try something different.  There's a guy on my street who I occasionally see mowing the lawn while wearing a mask.  I always thought this was kind of odd, but then maybe he's using it to protect himself from grass pollen?  I figure why not give it a chance?  Thus the reason for the mask.  The sunglasses are to protect my eyes from the Sun and the hat is there to protect my precious scalp from getting burned.  

The results?  After mowing the lawn I experienced no allergic symptoms!  But was it because of the mask?  It's hard to tell.  It was slightly cooler outside, so that could have played a role.  Pollen counts could have been down too which would have played a major role, so I have no clue whether the mask helped or not.  I was just happy to mow the lawn and still be able to function afterwards.

I have many characteristics and attributes that I hope my daughters acquire, but I also have several that I hope they do not acquire.  I'm not sure what role, if any, genetics plays into allergies, but I really hope my daughters don't have to go through the allergy issues I've had deal with.  They are definitely not fun.