Monday, August 18, 2025

Monday Mood: Treating Myself Well

I have had a summer head cold, stuffy, runny nose, you know the nagging but not really debilitating illness. We have probably all had one of these, most likely a rhino virus.  Annoying.  

As a kid, I would get a couple of days out of school, then be pushed back on the bus to school. The beginning of a lifetime of pushing through when not feeling well. There was work to be done, and I needed to be there. As an adult I often worked solo, if I didn't do the work, it didn't get done. I had to be almost dead, to not push through the and go to the office. I will admit that I went to work, many times when I shouldn't have.  Only once did a boss look at me and say, "GO HOME and take care of yourself!" 

This time, was different. I allowed myself to rest, to relax. To not do the things to do, but to allow the illness to run it's course. I didn't cook a couple of days when it was my day to cook. I skipped water aerobics a couple of days.  I skipped my daily treadmill walks. 

I see this is a step forward in my mental health.  I had a driven career, I mostly put work ahead of my health or personal life. Allowing myself time to recover should have been a natural behavior, and not a luxury.  The joys of retirement, I can allow myself this time and not feel guilty about it. And in the words of Martha Stewart, is a good thing. 
 

23 comments:

  1. The first time I ever was called out of school for being sick was in 2nd grade for chicken pox and then 6 grade with scarlet fever. The last time I called out sick for work was in 2017 with a bad flu. If I don't feel good, I don't believe I would go to work anyhow, because one, you get more run down, and two, you may get everyone else infected. I've been told I come from very good stock.

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  2. I was rarely one to work when I was ill. It drove me crazy when colleagues would come in an spread their germs to everyone else. I would have told you to go home.

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    1. More people need to be told to go home.

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  3. I never worked if I was unwell, aside from when I hurt my back.
    So you have visited a zoo and had contact with a rhino? Their personal habits aren't particularly fussy. I am not surprised you've caught something.

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    1. It must be a pet of one of the neighbors.

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    2. I can only commend you on your superb use of punnage!

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  4. There is always that feeling of "I need to be there," even though, sometimes, by goin g into work sick you aren't really helping anyone, least of all yourself.

    That said, unless I have something contagious, I always go into work sick, so I don't practice what I preach.

    I'll sit down now.

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    1. Working sick, is often not productive. We feel obligated to be there.

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  5. I most heartily commend you on this very important development. You are easily consumed by duty--which is perhaps one of the unconscious things that attracted me to you. 🤔 Now if only I could manage a healthy restraint when it comes to housework...

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  6. Love the pic of the bags; where was that?

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  7. You're listening to your body and not your sense of duty. Take care, hope you feel better soon, and fix yourself a cup of hot tea with honey and lemon.

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    1. Now my duty is to take care of myself and have a little fun along the way.

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  8. Sounds good. Hope you are feeling better.

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  9. Self care is an aquired and PRACTICED skill

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    1. That I need to het better at.

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  10. I've taken to going to sleep when the sun is stll up and rising between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. Mostly that's because of the cat but I also feel no guilt as I would have done in the past.

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    1. Cats have us well trained, sleep when you are weary and rise when we are rested, I love an afternoon nap.

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