One of the over 200 variations got me. I have succumbed to the sniffling, sneezing misery of the common cold. Maybe I was too optimistic to think that I could work in an atmosphere where children—cute, dirty little creatures that they are—abound and not get the incurable irritating virus known as the common cold.
But I don’t think that I fell to the rhino wrath often transferred by the little bitty children as much as I was a victim of people who don’t understand that coming to work sick isn’t making them any points. It just causes others in the workspace to get sick as well.
Last week’s podcast focused on how easily people can catch one of the over 200 forms of rhinovirus and how it is impossible to be immune to all of them. Adults get an average of 1 to 2 colds in the winter and/or spring months where children get a dozen or more.
I used to be that person that thought I was doing this great thing by coming to work sick. But if you’re contagious, stay home, use your PTO days. Because somebody may be thinking you got them sick with a virus because you were stingy and didn’t use your sick days. Maybe you weren’t protecting others from getting your bug (which is a tall order) by staying six feet away from everybody and wiping down everything you touch, washing your hands…you get the idea.
I know that this may sound harsh to some people. I understand that some people do not have paid time off or feel that they cannot afford to take the time off. But think of it this way for just a moment…. What if you were able to get well faster because you took the time to rest? If you took time to recoup and sleep like you need to so your body will revitalize itself.
Rest is in important thing and we should always take the time to rest. So here I sit among the mountains of used tissues…a short term mouth breather, frustrated because I feel like dog doo doo, sinuses screaming and swollen. Damn histamine response. And although I called in to work today I still felt the need to keep some loose form of my blogging schedule.
What makes use do this? We neglect ourselves for what? Could it be that the call of duty to do our thing is so strong that we muster the strength to go on? Yes, I am being silly. Yes, I know I have it lucky compared to some. I also know that I am stuck with this achy awful feeling for seven to ten days—if I take care of myself and rest.
I find it oddly amusing that our bodies can veto what our mind might be doing when it comes down to abusing ourselves. Working too much, engaging in something that is inherently detrimental to our wellbeing. I say this because I kinda think my body was screaming at me to take a break. It was telling me not to work for 21 days straight on top of trying to keep up on all my other responsibilities; one of which is grocery getting, which translates into my diet has been sub par.
If your subconscious is telling you to rest, you better do it. Or you may end up grounded because you did not listen to that part of you that already knows what to do. So take care of you everybody.
And almost totally unrelated is the fact that my next podcast is going to have a seriously husky version of my voice. So that should be fun. Maybe I should try doing ASMDR…nah. Please understand if this blog post is a little disjointed it is only because I am hopped up on cold medication. BLAH!
Ried Rants 