Sick Days and Snow Days

Hello, everyone. I haven't really felt compelled to blog the last few weeks so that's why I haven't. It gets harder and harder for me to find topics to blog about as I get further and further into my year. Today, I want to talk about what's been going on in my world for the last few days.

You may have heard on the news but Chicago has just experienced its worst snowstorm in over 40 years. The blizzard arrived Tuesday afternoon and so far has managed to drop 20 inches of snow on the ground, causing the city to experience massive closures and delays all over the place. Chicago Public Schools were closed for the first time in 12 years and many motorists found themselves stranded on the highway for hours on end. Meanwhile, as for us YAVS, we have found ourselves with something unexpected: snow days!! Definitely never thought that I would ever get a snow day up here but so far I have had two and it's very odd as it has been so long since I have had one that I have kinda forgotten what one does on a snow day. We are all starting to suffer from cabin fever, though, as too much time cooped up indoors will do that to a person. All in all, it's been an unexpected treat but I think we are all ready to get back to work just so we have an excuse to get out of the house.

I, however, have been cooped up in the house for reasons unrelated to the weather. Sometime last weekend, I seem to have caught the flu bug and woke up Monday morning feeling miserable so have spent the last three days in bed literally only getting up to go to the bathroom. I am just now starting to feel better finally and am ready to go back to work tomorrow night. I'm glad for the snow days because they meant I didn't have to call in sick too much. We get unlimited sick days which is nice but anyone who knows me knows that I loathe calling in sick or taking sick days and so this marked the first time in three years that I actually did it. Fortunately, right after I did it the storm hit so the past two days have been snow days and now I feel well enough that I shouldn't have to call in sick anymore. I've never liked being sick as I don't like the general feeling of helplessness that it entails and the amount of time you have to spend in bed doing nothing bothers me. Once again, my Type A personality just doesn't gibe with being sick and especially considering that this marked the first time in over a year that I had actually gotten sick, it meant that I have spent the last few days feeling absolutely miserable. I can't even begin to tell you how good it feels to finally be feeling a little better. At least if I had to get sick, it was during the Snowpocalypse so I didn't have to feel as guilty about missing work and having other people take on my responsibilities. That much, at least, is a blessing.

Without a doubt, this has been one of the hardest weeks I have had here so far. Fighting off the flu while watching the city you've grown to love completely shut down has definitely been difficult. It's like God is trying to test my patience and seeing just how many different things he can throw at me all at once. I hope I passed his test. This week really tested my resolve as thanks to the weather (and our less than adequate insurance) I couldn't get out of the house to go see a doctor so had to rely on some old-fashioned remedies to cure myself. I do hope that this is the last time that I will get sick between now and August. I don't think I could handle another bout. It will be a few days until both the City and myself fully recover but once we do, just watch out!!