A few weeks ago we were in Milwaukee for a friend’s wedding when I started to feel funky. My sinuses started to act up and occasional chills rippled under my skin. Crap, I thought, I’m getting sick. And I was. I did. And it has hung on stubbornly to make my life as uncomfortable as possible. Each day GalPal would tell me to stay home from work and each day I’d point out all the reasons I couldn’t. Plus, everyone at work seemed to be sick to so why should I look bad by calling in?
I really should have. Maybe I would have gotten better a lot faster. But that’s not in my nature. Throughout my entire professional career I’ve called in sick under a handful of times. I rack up sick days until the form towers to house me should anything calamitous actually occur. I push through the pain and discomfort and just move on.
This weekend we attended another wedding – a truly stunning affair, it must be said – and again I was still sick. My throat was on fire, my head ready to explode, my joints ached, and still I acted as if nothing was wrong, doing my best to smile and have a good time. Yesterday I decided enough was enough and camped out on the couch. Outside the wedding I had already spent much of the weekend asleep and I decided to beat this thing once and for all. Did I want to go to brunch? And the gym? And then try out a new BBQ place nearby? You bet I did, but I decided to act like a human being for a single day and admit that maybe I deserved to stop moving and rest a little in order to give my body a chance to fix itself.
And that seems to have worked.
I still don’t fell 100%, but the sore throat is almost gone, my sinuses are no longer the size of fire hoses and I haven’t shivered for almost 24-hours. So of course I wonder if this is just because whatever was making me ill finally moved on regardless of my actions or if by taking a day “off” – albeit on the weekend – I finally gave that bug a final kick in the pants to get the fuck out of my system. There’s really no way to know for sure, but maybe next time I’m feeling that crappy I will just call in to work and give my system a day off and see if that keeps me from suffering for weeks on end.
Maybe part of growing up is being mature enough to know when you should call into work, huh?
3 comments:
Here, here! I've had similar trials with vacation but I'm with you that sick days are worse. Because I still know that the emails are coming in and end up working from my couch. Then getting on the phone. And suddenly there is no resting happening at all and I feel like my day would have been easier in the office- with the exception of the whole "get everyone else sick" thing.
Alas, I hate lingering coughs and tender tums. And the only way I know how to really knock them out is to take the one day, turn off the phone and just sleep and drink water. And repeat.
Cheers! (with an EmergenC and a pledge not to get anywhere near your desk till at least tomorrow).
Yeah, NEXT time I'm just staying home.
Also, I imagine the only thing worse than getting sucked into doing work when sick is getting sucked into work on a vacation day ... which I'm sure you and I have both done!
hope you are getting better… sore throat is not a lot of fun its just uncomfortable and difficult to swallow.
usually, i would take the Nim Jiom Cough Syrup (www.geocities.jp/ninjiom_hong_kong/index_e.htm ) which has a thick consistency formulation. it coats the throat and includes herbs that are particularly good for that application.
i hope it works on you as well.
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