You Know You Have a Cold When...

That's right folks, I'm sick.  I was sneezing regularly on Monday and then boom, Monday afternoon, my body decided to tell me it wasn't feeling well.  On a scale of 1-10 where 1 people go on about their normal lives and 10 being a person who takes off work and sleeps all day, I'm at a level 8.  I feel absolutely miserable... but no misery compares to making lesson plans for a sub and hoping your students don't kill each other.  So no day off for me.  Anyway, here are some things I've noticed about being sick.

1. Style and shame give way to comfort.  Do I care what I'm wearing this week?  Not a bit.  Am I embarrassed that I'm carrying around a box of tissues with me everywhere I go?  Nope.  Does it bother me that I'm currently wearing a shirt, cardigan, and a jacket in my classroom?  Hey, if I'm semi-warm, that's all that matters.

2. Every decision or sentence takes you twice as long to make.  I went to Target on Tuesday because I had to buy chargers for an event this weekend.  When they weren't there, I called my friend Kristen to ask her what I should do.  She suggested trying a different store, like Michael's.  Wait, other stores sell stuff?  Why didn't I think of that?

3. Multitasking goes away completely.  It's hard enough to do one task when your head feels fuzzy.  It's another trying to juggle more than one thing.  Walking into work yesterday, I was trying to hang up the phone with my dad, carry in my box of tissues (see #1) and hot cocoa, and walk up a slight hill.  What was I thinking?  I very nearly dropped the phone and ended up spilling cocoa on my tissues and myself.  Fail.

4.  Everything wears you out.  I feel like I need to take a break halfway up the stairs.  You can't breathe through your nose at all, and you feel out of breath breathing through your mouth.  Eating makes you feel like you're suffocating since you're shoving food into the only opening you can breath through!  You sit down to brush your teeth.  You turn off the lights early on trick-or-treaters because getting up when the bell rings zaps what little energy you have left.

5. Your internal clock tells you when to med-up.  You've tricked yourself into thinking you're feeling better, then all of a sudden you feel miserable again.  You look up at the clock and realize your Day-Quil has run out and you need to re-up.

6.  You use the excuse "I'm sick" whenever possible.  You have a bit of shame and realize you look rough.  Before anyone can make assumptions, you volunteer the information "I'm sick."  This also works to excuse poor work, muddled conversations, distracted thoughts, or boycotting errand-running or cleaning.  It's a great excuse!


I'm sure there's more, and I'd love to hear your opinions.  As for today's post, I did not proofread.  I did not read over it to see if it made sense.  I just told you how hard it is to perform normal tasks right now, so give me a break.  "I'm sick."