the happy side of being sick

today’s the first day of a four day weekend and i am sick. i got the same thing mr. happy stuff had at the beginning of the week, so at least i’ll have some idea of the progression it should follow. i actually left work a little early yesterday because my throat was starting to burn and all i wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep (and in fact, i did take a tiny nap at the end of my lunch break…. puppets can make good pillows in a pinch). so let’s see. the nice thing about being sick on your days off is that you don’t have that “do i call in or don’t i” conundrum. or maybe other people don’t have that quandary like i do. i always get this guilty feeling for calling in sick–especially if i know that my calling in will affect someone else’s schedule. i mean, i’m dedicated to the idea that if you stay home and rest you’ll feel better faster and you won’t spread your germs to the rest of your co-workers, but i think it’s a left-over feeling from the years where i worked in a very small staff pool and one person calling in really did affect your workload for the day. so, hurrah for no guilt sickness!

the other nice thing about being sick is that it’s about the only time that i allow myself to just lie in bed and read / sleep all day without a single twinge of guilt. i have this terribly strong urge to be “productive” all the time and when i’m sick i can happily tell myself that lying in bed or watching tv on the couch is being productive–i’m working on getting better!

being sick and reading in bed also allows me to chip away at mt. libro that’s growing beside my bed. not only do i have all of the required reading for my upcoming children’s literature class, but i also have the stack of books that i’m reading just because they looked like they might be interesting/a hot title/something i could consider for “favoreads” at work.

so, i’m off to spend a snowy day in my bed, down comforter pulled up to my chin, three pillows under my head, stack of books on one side and cup of hot tea on the other. may all of your sick days be as lovely as mine.