A sick day

No, it's not the flu or any other virus -- it's just this frustrating weather and my allergies making me miserable today. It's easy for people to write that off as not really being sick (I'm guilty of that myself) but when I can feel all eight sinus passages throbbing in my head and my muscles feel like jelly, then I admit I'm beat.

My senior editor made me take an honest to goodness sick day today -- not just an "I'm sick so I'll work from home" day. I'm grateful to her, not just for being a self-sacrificing workhorse (she is) but for being empathetic and encouraging me to log off and sleep. Because I actually did sleep. During the day. And for more than 20 minutes. It's completely unlike me, but I fought hard against random text messages, barking dogs and weird house noises to actually achieve a real nap. And I felt better when I woke up! It sounds silly, but it's not just that I don't usually have the opportunity to nap -- I usually can't let myself. But not today. Thank God.

I keep thinking about different blog posts I should make but nothing is really coming to fruition. So instead, I'm going to start a semi-regular thing here (you like the way I side-step commitment right there?) inspired by the clever and inspiring Karen Edmisten here. It will henceforth be called "Pondering, Positivity, Praise" or the three Ps. I know that's goofy, but if you couldn't tell already, I love alliteration. So here we go...

Pondering... Over the last few days I have been thinking a lot about women in the workplace, specifically mothers in the workplace. I work full-time. And anyone I've talked to about this knows, I'd rather not be working outside the home. But like Father Larry told me, not in these exact words but with much love, get over yourself. This job is straight from the hand of God. It's saved us from losing our house, it's helped me lose weight (who knew, right?) and most importantly it is perfecting me and my husband in ways only God himself could do.

Back to the topic -- mothers in the workplace. A coworker and I had an excellent conversation after work on Friday. You might call it a bitch session -- that wouldn't be far off. And it was much needed. She and I aren't the only mommies in our department, but we are the only mommies of small children who don't party. Like, party party. Our company prides itself on "working hard and playing hard," if that tells you anything. There's a beer fridge, for crying out loud. But because my coworker and I are responsible for picking up our kids from daycare after work, we can never stay to partake of said beer fridge. Or go to happy hours or after-work parties. And it's becoming clear to us both that it's a thing. And it might just be keeping us from being recognized for any achievement we might make. We both agree that "moving up" is not a priority for us -- our children and families come first. But it smarted when we each realized that our responsibilities to our families are stumbling blocks to satisfaction at work.

So, I go back to the idea of starting the Undoer of Knots novena. For all working moms.


Positivity... Which segues oh, so nicely into this segment. It is so important for me to fight off the negative feelings I encounter every day, seemingly from all around me. The Internet in particular is a problem. Specifically social media. Facebook and I make take a break for a while, save for a special few individuals.  This story sums it up.


Praise... I am praising the Lord for all the difficulties he's sending our way. Not that I'm not grumbling about some of them. Okay, most of them. But I also know, once I get a little distance, that they are making us all better people. I'm praising him especially for the hard-headedness of my sweet 8-year-old son. I mean, when God set out to see just how stubborn a boy can be, he outdid himself. :)

So there you have it. A sick proves to be quite productive, after all.