Stepping Off The Bench: Sick Day Soliloquy
I used to like sick days.
Mostly, I think, because a lot of the sick days I’ve taken as an adult have been mental health days. The reality of the work I do is that it pays okay, and I enjoy doing it, but when I miss a day, or am otherwise a day short, I really feel it. This week started out pretty well, and my first day with my new adventurers went well, but last night I tossed and turned dealing with a sore throat. It didn’t end up amounting to much—a strep test at the Minute Clinic yielded a negative result and I left the pharmacy with ibuprofen and some numbing cough drops—but to be safe, I stayed home from work. Now I’m looking ahead to Thursday, usually a brief, laid-back affair, and I feel, well, anxious. I have quizzes to write. It’s only my second day with two of my students and we’re about to kick off Unit 0, and there’s a part of me that’s worried that it’s not going to go well.
The thing is, there’s a lot of signs that things will be fine. I’ve gone through this process smoothly already this year, and I know I can pull it off again. I just need to let myself enjoy the process, get back in there, and finish the week strong.
I’ve been reading again, and on the days I’ve been teaching, I’ve managed to get my meditation time in, which has felt good. Taking time during the day to just breathe, to pause and let my mind focus on one thing at a time, has been helpful, and I plan to use it to get me to the finish line. Today may have been hard, and it may feel like I’ve been set back, but I know that momentary frustration can’t beat the Mindful Mentor so easily.
For tomorrow, I have two adventurers to induct into my system, and three quizzes to administer to my remaining adventurers. The Relentless Wordsmith has been reading the Canterbury Tales and has learned about the Middle Ages. The Studious Scholar spent some time reading Puritan poetry, and The Henotic Health Advisor—many adjectives beginning with H have cycled in and out of his title—has been reading some short stories from the likes of Edgar Allan Poe and Truman Capote. The quizzes I need to write for them are not necessarily going to be punishing in difficulty, but they should cover a decent breadth of information.
The main objective of tomorrow’s introductory lesson is to introduce them to their character sheets and to have them add one more paragraph to their Intro to Me letters, which they should have completed while I was gone. We’ll discuss their letters and brainstorm their Personal Pursuits and Growth Goals for the last part of this Adventure, and I’ll be able to document our discussions here later this week.
I know I’m capable, and I’m not going to let a day off and Thursday jitters keep me from taking on my challenges with gusto.
I’ll update you on how it all goes. Until then, life will pass through, keep being you.
Sincerely, MM