I loved poems when I was a little girl, and one of my favorites begins this way:  

When I am sick and lay a-bed,
I had two pillows at my head,
And all my toys beside me lay
To keep me happy all the day.
(Robert Louis Stevenson, The Land of Counterpane)  

Somehow, I don't think this little guy is worried about his schedule.

When my Mom read that poem to me at bedtime, I almost wished I could be sick.  In fact, I sorta loved sick days.  For that one day, I read books in my pajamas.  For that one day, one of my parents would tuck me into fuzzy blankets on the sofa, and hand-deliver cinnamon toast and chicken noodle soup.  For one day, there was no schedule, no school bell, and no cafeteria lunchroom.  Sure, I missed homework assignments, but those could be completed later.  This was a special day…a sick day.

I’m sorry to report that the classic “sick day” has been lost.  This isn’t exactly a news-flash, I realize.  People have been uttering the words, “I don’t have time to be sick,” since I started college.  So I wonder—if everyone is SO longing for the return of the old-fashioned sick day, where has it gone?  I work in a setting that regularly uses words/phrases like “work-life balance”, “holistic”, and “wellness.”  So someone tell me why on earth I’m so hesitant to call in sick, and take a measly 8 hours to focus on recovery. 

Ah, but we have these things called schedules.  And honestly, in the name of wellness, I could easily make peace with a change in my own schedule—and that’s what Life in Pencil is all about, right?  But even if I could let go of my own pre-planned day, I can’t seem to let go of other people’s schedules.  And that’s when Life in Pencil becomes more than just my own little issue…

It’s happened to all of us at some point or another.  You get legitimately sick.  Your car breaks down.  You get a flat tire.  Or your own child gets sick.  You panic at first, and then make peace with the fact that schedules are interrupted sometimes.  Then you go about shifting your schedule, and re-planning your life.  If you work independently, maybe this is no big deal.  But when your schedule is full of appointments, tasks, patients, or basically just other people…it gets tricky.  You could stay at home, but you’d do it with the knowledge that a co-worker will bear the brunt of your workload, and a handful of disappointed people will have to reschedule their own days.  Thus, even if you are comfortable with Life in Pencil, someone else may not be.

Now here's a guy who knew how to take a sick day.

And that, my friends, is the heart of my problem.  I’ve felt awful all week.  Fear not—no H1N1 here—just a good old fashioned cold.  My throat is sore, my head is fuzzy, and my body is worn out.  And I’ve wanted nothing more than to curl up on my sofa with loads of blankets, a cup of tea, and a plate of cinnamon toast.  But I haven’t given myself that day…there have been presentations, appointments, and just too many people to worry about.  I wish I could end this silliness, and just stay home.  I could live my own Life in Pencil, and roll with the disruption.  I’m just not ready to ask the same of everyone else. 

So…when was your last sick day?  5^th grade?  Or more recently?  And what do you do when you take your very special sick days?