I’m a couple of days late in posting this, and while I’m a little embarrassed about that, I’m not going to apologise because the reason I’m late is because I was, and still am, sick. 
 
It’s not the flu, but it is a very bad dose of the cold!  And so while I’ve been sniffling and coughing and feeling sorry for myself, I decided to write my email to you reflecting on what I’m learning from this whole episode.

My Tale of Woe

When I woke up last Tuesday, I knew something was brewing.  I felt those initial sensations of a cold and could tell I was coughing more than I should be.  By Wednesday, I decided to work from home. 

By Thursday, I was beginning to feel really rotten and reluctantly called in sick, thinking just one day and I’d be back to, at least,working from home.  I deteriorated as Thursday continued and I didn’t even wake up until 11am on Friday.  I was pathetically skulking from bed to couch to kitchen to bathroom, not moving unless I needed to.  I had the TV on but napped most of the day.  I also went through an entire box of tissues – a mountain of them growing on the floor next to me!

By Saturday, I was not showing any improvement.  I’d never had to lay on a couch sick with a cold for 3 days, but I was convinced it wasn’t flu because I wasn’t feeling achy or feverish.  Sunday morning, I began to feel a little better, but I was in tears again from the exacerbation of being sick and alone.  So I called my mum and asked her to drive 2 hours to come and visit me for a couple of days.


So here’s what I’ve learned from this whole experience:

1.  Calling in sick and taking time to sleep was definitely what my body needed for the first couple of days

2. Telling friends and neighbours I was sick but not to come to see me so they didn’t catch it (because it is a nasty strain!) felt like being a good friend to them as I wouldn’t wish this on anyone!

3. Worrying about the workload I was leaving colleagues in my absence was not something I should have done because at the end of the day, a business should be able to manage short-term sickness absence as well, if not better, than they can my holiday absences

4. With living alone and being single, I should have called my mum earlier to come and take care of me – even in my late 30’s!

5. Staying off sick for 4 days now has given my body the time to properly recover from this the first time round

There’s only one of me and I need to take good care of her if she’s to do great things in her life!  And that includes taking time off sick when I am sick. 

Over the last few years, I’ve noticed that my body has a pretty bold way of telling me when it’s time to slow down and take some rest.  This time I listened better than I have before.

What messages are you getting from your body and either overlooking or not paying enough attention to?

Be honest with yourself.  Don’t cheat yourself of the attention you deserve.