 "I think he's sick," she said. "He says he's hot and he's not
feeling well."It wasn't surprising to me because my daughter was
sick a few days before. I told the teacher that I'd be there in a
few minutes.
When I arrived at the office, he was sitting in a chair with a
big grin on his face, looking decidedly ... not sick.
I looked him over with a mothering eye. Bright eyes, pink cheeks,
sitting straight up and, of course, there was ... that grin.
"Your teacher told me you were sick," I said.
"Yep. I am. Sooo, let's go!" he chirped. "Can we go to the
playground before we go home?"
I rolled my eyes. "Well, sick children usually want to go home
and lay down," I said.
He thought about that a minute and then asked, "What if I feel
better when we get home?"
"Are you expecting a miraculous recovery?" He had clearly not
thought this little scheme through to its inevitable conclusion.
I knew how he felt. There were days when I just wanted to chuck
it all and do something crazy. Nothing too off-the-wall, just
something different.
Every day is the same. The only minor changes are mere
inconveniences. I almost welcomed the chance to drop everything and
run to the school to pick up a sick child. It was different. It was
inconvenient and not fun, but it was different.
So I understood my child's reasoning, but his method left
something to be desired. I couldn't in all good conscience let him
get away with that because if it worked, he'd tell his teacher he
was sick three times a week.
[to top of second column]
 |
 There are a lot of really good reasons for adults to take a "sick
day." Maybe the fish are biting, or there's a sale at J.C. Penney.
Perhaps your garden needs weeding, or the bed is just the right
temperature. Maybe it's simply a beautiful day. Isn't that what sick
days are for?
We should call them "well days," not sick days. When I'm sick, I
go to work. Why waste a perfectly good sick day being sick? After
all, when I'm miserable, it doesn't really matter where I'm
miserable. But when the sun is shining, the temperature is perfect,
and I haven't ridden a bicycle since I took off my last child's
training wheels, it's time for a "well day!"
Really, the only difference between a well day and a vacation day
is that vacations are planned. Well days are gloriously spontaneous!
How you use them is the difference between the living and the
walking dead.
I know people who have worked at the same company for decades and
have never used any sick time or vacation time. This is a source of
pride for them. It certainly is a commendable feat, and God bless
those people! They must really love what they do.
Me? Every now and then I just want to be reminded of what it was
like to be a kid who pretends to be sick just so he can go to the
playground.
[By LAURA SNYDER]
You can reach the writer at
lsnyder@lauraonlife.com
Or visit www.lauraonlife.com
for more columns and info about her books. |
