(Stubborn) Sick Day

Yesterday I did something I very rarely do (and hadn't done in more than a year). I went home sick. Thankfully I haven't been hit by any nasty viruses or infections in a while (knock on wood), but the truth of it is that I have a very hard time taking time off for being sick. Part of it is that, even after almost four years of being gainfully employed with built-in sick days, I still have the mindset that being sick = losing money. Another part of it is guilt. Which is ridiculous, I know, but it's there. I am not naive or narcissistic enough to think that if I'm not there things will fall apart, as evidenced by the fact that I have very little problem taking vacation days. But, I still don't take sick days often, and only as a last resort. Yesterday, I woke up with a headache, worse than the usual run-of-the-mill headache, but not a migraine. I debated not even getting out of bed. I showered and dressed and then debated going back to bed. I got on the shuttle and got to work. Still had a headache, which was growing worse, and some general ickiness. But it took me more than two hours of sitting at my desk to convince myself to just go home. And I went home and slept for seven straight hours and still had a bit of a headache when I woke up. So it was a justified sick half-day. But I still felt a bit guilty. (And, of course, nothing earth-shattering happened in my absence.)

Tomorrow night I'm leaving for Sri Lanka. Three and a half glorious days on vacation. Pictures and stories when I return!