Evolution of a Sick Day

Elementary School: Are you kidding? Becky Greene was in charge of my life, I never got sick. I can specifically remember having the stomach flu in kindergarten and chicken pox during one of those early years, but there weren't a lot of sick days while I was at Sandycreek. I know I didn't have perfect attendance, but I wasn't a sick kid.

Middle School/ High School: If we stayed home from school, we weren't allowed to watch TV or do anything fun and since I genuinely liked school, I don't remember ever wanting to stay home. I had strepp a lot, and I missed for my wisdom teeth, so it was really only when the doctor told me I wasn't allowed to be around people. I did start to have fainting spells and get sent home early, but towards the end I would just lie down until I felt better and then go back to class.

College: It seems statistically impossible to have the stomach flu as often as I did in college, but there you go. That's what happens when you leave the germ-free world your mother created for you. When I was sick, I was more than happy to skip class but I usually made it to at least one during the day (this was only a problem senior year when I had the same professor for multiple classes a day). Living on the floor, I always had sisters around to take care of me, or just roommates. I think senior year I was more likely to go to class if I wasn't feeling well because that's where all my friends were and none of my classes were very formal, so it didn't seem like as big of a deal.

Post-College: I've worked really hard to stay healthy, but the migraines and the fainting spells still show up once and a while. Unlike college, if I take a sick day I just end up sitting around being bored, so I'd rather go to work anyway and get something done. I am terrible at zero productivity. With the internet I can still help out at the office without sharing my germs with all them, but it's only 10:30 and I'm already going stir-crazy.