For some reason, time didn’t matter when we were young. If I got sick as a child I could stay at home for a week, no problem. I could watch something I like, play a game I enjoyed or do whatever else I desired as long as I stayed in bed and kept warm. It didn’t matter that the other children were learning things at school. It didn’t mean that my grades would suffer or that I would fall behind. The only thing that mattered was that I would get better.
It was boring to be sick, but I was also bored a lot when I wasn’t sick. I used to tell my dad when I felt bored during summer vacations. He would be lying on the couch watching television and say ‘good, I wish I was, you should enjoy it while you can.’ Why would I want to be bored, I thought? What is he on about? It’s not fun to be bored. But as I grew older I figured out what he meant. Life gets a lot busier once you grow up. First, you can’t really miss that many days of secondary school, then you can’t really afford to be sick during a 6-month long internship and the next thing you know I’ll have an actual job (I wish, only joking).
Sure, sure, you can have sick days but no one likes you to be sick. However, no one likes me to be sick less than I do. Sometimes I seem to live to be productive (sorry if that sounds dramatic) and when I’m sick I can be anything but productive. When I’m sick, I’m sick. I lie in bed, try to sleep, drink ten cups of tea a day, hate my life and start back up with the painkillers that I gave up on months ago because they don’t work anyway. But just because I’m sick, that doesn’t mean that story will write itself. Just because I’m sick, doesn’t mean the laundry will get done, food will be cooked, football will stop, people will stop socialising, the legal issues with this house will be resolved.
I’ll still have my job induction today. I’ll still have to speak to the letting agency and possibly (hopefully) pack all my stuff and be ready to move. Classes will start on Tuesday and work for that will follow soon after, I’m sure. It doesn’t matter that I caught the flu and that I may need 2 weeks to fully recover. I never liked being sick as a child but it seems to get even worse when you’re older. If I’m feeling like I’ve caught the plague now, what will I feel like when I get ill in 20 years time? I’m kidding, of course, but you know, maybe it would be semi alright if I had the time to be sick and recover like I used to. It would be better if life could also stop when my body forces me to.
But hey, at least this is only temporary. I’ll get better just like everyone else that is currently suffering from the fresher’s flu or the autumn blues or whatever. And then I’ll overwork myself to catch up for lost time which will eventually lead to my next KO. You got to love the cycle of life. (Don’t worry, I mock myself for being sick and laugh about it. What else can you do when you’re in pain?) and hey, there are worse things in the world!
