Recharge Day
I spent all last night tossing and turning, denying that I had a fever until I broke out into a sweat around midnight, and finally took some more medicine.
I likely caught the flu from any number of people over the last week, not least of all Eric, who proclaimed to me a week and a half ago "I've got the suds!" But he probably got it from one of his 400 students at the local middle school, which has been postponing events and lessons due to nearly a quarter of their students having been out sick. I don't know why I imagined I'd get away scratch free. (ﾉ￣□￣)ﾉ ~┻━┻
Maybe it's because I managed to stay healthy all week, and figured Eric's contagious period had passed... but eventually my body succumbed. I knew I'd come down with it yesterday morning when I felt a scratchy lump in the back of my throat, but still managed to work half a day before I called it quits, dragged myself to the drugstore for medicine, then crashed out at home for the rest of the day.
I'm glad to say that when I get sick though, it's usually about 24 hours and I'm good to go again. Still, something told me to go ahead and take today off too... I had the extra comp time for it, and didn't have anything pressing at work. So I did. I took a sick day, but I think I also took a mental health day / self care day / home care day.
As I kissed Eric goodbye around 7:30 am, I felt full of energy, and knew I was going to make today great. And I have! I did a bunch of chores and cleaning, chatted with my mom, re-arranged the dining room, went through old papers, cleaned up and restored two woks, took a relaxing shower, and have finally sat down to write in my blog. I know that this may not sound like a traditional recharge day for most people, but for someone like me, I feel like I was able to get a month of put-off tasks in just a day, simply because I took one damn day for myself.
I used to feel terribly guilty about taking a day off like this all through my 20s, as if somehow it was my obligation to either lay in bed like I was afflicted with consumption, or otherwise force myself into work midday, as soon as I didn't have a fever.
But now in my mid-thirties, I have since learned a few important things:
- For most jobs, I've never been so important that business wouldn't go on without me for a day or two.
- No one knows what you're doing on a sick day, nor do they care.
- In Japan, I have never been allotted "sick leave," so when I take a day off, it's my business anyway.
- Just because you're not fevered, coughing, sneezing, or aching doesn't mean that you're not contagious.
- And finally, it's often much better for your health and recovery to spend a little longer at home than you think you "need to." In fact, while writing this I decided to go look it up and HA! I must have heard this somewhere before, because here it is from a hospital blog:
"Your body is still using a lot of energy to fight off the infection, so avoid jumping back into normal routines too quickly. Overexertion can delay your recovery. ... Stay home until at least 24 hours after your fever is gone without the use of fever-reducing medicine." - Stages of flu recovery: A day-by-day guide to feeling better fast, Baylor Scott & White
Anyway, I'm glad to have stayed home for a bit, and in between the doing of chores and taking care of myself, I have also had the pleasure of watching the day pass outside, with clouds coming and going, changing the lighting and passage of air through my open veranda door. It's given me a chance to appreciate how much this apartment feels more and more like home, the longer I am in it.
I think that may be the next thing I write about - How long it takes to make a place home.