I relate to the positive aspects of being sick as a child. As a young adult sickness was rare. Now that I am older it is not that I mind being sick, but it can drag for weeks and it gets old.
1
"Since my immune system is nowhere near as weak as I’d like it to be..." You have no idea how fortunate you are to be in good health. I found this piece cloying and naive at best, and deeply offensive at worst. It reminds me of when a friend told me she was jealous of my cancer because it must really put things in perspective.
If you get your wish of truly being sick, I think you will quickly regret it.
11
too many people try to be heroes and go to work when sick. its rude and can make their colleagues, fellow commuters and others they come in contact with sick in the process
As one who grapples daily with how to manage a chronic disease, this self-indulgent glorification of "illness" is insulting at best. To equate illness with a break, a sabbatical, a relief from the ordinary actually reinforces the idea that those of use who actually struggle are somehow "enjoying" all the rest, "lucky" to be "able" to lie on the couch--in fact, there is very little joy involved and I'd trade my "luck" at getting a diagnosis after many years and no chance for a cure (just management of some issues thanks to a myriad of prescriptions that barely work) for the author's momentary believe that she is special because it's not easy to diagnose her rash and that all-purpose ointment. The author's passing references to her many privileges does nothing to mitigate this.
23
I totally get what the author is saying and also love me a sick day. I also am cognizant that I am blessed with these things that make it possible:
- I have a job where I can take a paid sick/PTO day
- I do not have a chronic illness
- I am a dad but my wife and I can pick up some slack for each other with household stuff
Has to be the right kind of sick though. Gastroenteritis does not make for an enjoyable afternoon.
3
Thank God ER doctors, surgeons, dentists and other specialists show up for work every day. They wouldn't have their career had they taken all those sick days off. If you get in an accident, or God forbid a mass murder, you can be sure that they will all be there waiting to save your life.
3
A sunspot? Curling up on the surface of the sun would not be a good idea, and no, that’s the only definition of the word.
2
Could have been amusing (who doesn't like a break, even if it is disease-borne; she is not alone in being tempted to play hookey) but her caveat-citing ("I get that I am writing from a position of privilege") did not feel humble or genuine to me and thus, unfortunately, the piece seemed to trivialize illness...
18
Interesting and humorous, except if you're one of her co-workers; then, not so much.
3
Calling in "sick" when one merely has a cold (or the equivalent) is morally lazy and intellectually dishonest. Worse, it's unfair to the person's employer and co-workers. And yet treating sick days as personal days has become quite common. It's a sign of our society's increased moral laxness - and I say this not as a prudish political conservative but as an urban democrat. I would put getting on public buses at the front of the bus rather than in the middle of the bus in the same category. It's just bad manners. I can only hope that this woman's employer didn't need her badly that day and that maybe she'll be an employer one day who gets a taste of her own medicine.
2
Morality? Really? Well, OK, if that’s how you want to talk about it — but I would rather have my coworkers call in sick than come to work and infect the rest of us any day.
16
@AMo, I can't tell if your comment is tongue-in-cheek or serious, but think about this: when a sick person with any type of infection comes into work, he or she is putting others' health at risk. I find the particularly American practice of working without taking sick days (or vacation time , for that matter) to be especially short-sighted and disheartening. None of us is indispensable. When we're sick, we owe it to ourselves, our employers and our colleagues to take some well-deserved rest.
10
Nursing a cold is not being lazy or immoral. It’s taking care of yourself—so you can go back to work energized—and not sneezing and coughing all over the place. Everyone needs a sick day now and then.
11
This article confirms what I tell my children. Showing up for work will put you ahead of
50% of American workers. Showing up for work when the job needs done, regardless of your personal problems, will put you ahead of your completion.
Actually working after showing up will put you way ahead of your competition and guarantee promotion and pay raises.
The Millennial Snowflakes guarantee hard-working dedicated employees will always have great employment prospects.
4
OMG, I thought I was the only freak of nature who looked forward to getting a cold or worse that would force me to stay home from work! I don't relish the aches, fever and other unpleasant symptoms, but Ms. Ortega has it exactly right: being sick gives us permission to stay home on the couch, under a blanket, reading, dozing, watching TV and being off the radar and inaccessible from the pressures of work. I fully realize that I'm fortunate to have sick days, and that others aren't so lucky. But there's something so cozy about jumping off the proverbial treadmill. Bring on the Thera-flu!
13
I am lucky enough to have a very healthy child. Despite starting daycare at 16 months, he rarely got sick.
When he was about four or five, he began to realize that his friends got to stay home and watch TV, while he had to go to daycare (and later school) everyday!
Hate being sick.
Hate being fussed over.
Haven't missed a day of work in 15 years at my high stress job.
You can have it.!
3
Some can't afford to be sick - to do so would mean losing a days wage.
9
A well-written piece!
On a somewhat related note, it brings to mind some of what I'd read in the book 'Why we get sick: the science of Darwinian medicine'. It was a fascinating book, with a heavy concentration on the immune system.
One thing that really struck me in the book was...it was talking about how, due to our fast-paced modern day lives, we find that we often have colds that we 'can't shake'. The authors suggest that it's to our own detriment when, even with a cold, we continue to go, go, go, popping pills and taking various elixirs to make us temporarily 'feel better', while we continue to go about our lives.
They said that, instead, we need to listen to our bodies and what they are telling us. When we have a cold, our bodies typically feel groggy, sluggish, and...like we just want to curl up in a ball and stay in bed. Which is precisely what we should be doing. It's our body's way of telling us what we need.... rest. Rest that will allow our body to do what it does best, which is, to heal itself.
10
People need the opportunity for rest without guilt. Many have called it Sabbath.
23
The author tried too hard to be cute, thus came across as contrived. It stopped being funny for me right then and there.
13
A well written and candid piece of writing, still I can’t help thinking of those who are truly sick and suffering and would give anything just to feel better for one day. It seems to me that we all need to be able to take time for ourselves to rest and recharge without claiming illness as some excuse for being human. I hate to be a buzz kill but as someone who has been really sick I have to say be careful what you wish for. Buy yourself a whole package of m&ms and be be thankful for your health.
20
Does anyone really call in sick any more? At my job, workers are expected to pull their laptops into bed with them and dial into conference calls. I'd love to be able to take a day off to tend to my health--including my mental health--but as far as corporate America is concerned, only a wimp would do that.
8
In addition to the manifest class privilege of being able to take time off work when sick, the writer must not be a parent. Those of us who are know that our own illnesses certainly do not involve "surprise sabbaticals" or "excusing ourselves from life." If only!
9
The company where I work has a PTO bank plan, where taking sick days mean fewer vacation days available to take when you're well. Therefore, it's much more fun to practice "presenteeism" and give my miserable cold to as many people as I can rather than stay home.
7
Well fortunately for me I don’t contract colds or acquire them anyway, if I can possibly avoid it. Every time I get a scratchy throat, a gargle with some salt water..... it kills the bugs. Although my throat is a little bit ragged for the next couple days it’s much better than carrying having a cold. And there’s other elements that I used to get like poison oak, meat-bees (wasp stings that while annoying, are of brief duration) that I seem to have, with this older in age, become immune to: everybody else better watch out, because I am now a contagious bug carrying, virus shedding basic (slob) type guy! Also I have very few or no allergies that I know of maybe except the blood sugar immunity to insulin or whatever it’s called that is known as diabetes, but I’ll have to move around more and do something like, ew yuck, exercise...... after which I can then pig out on my propane gutter torch blazed (black on the outside red on the inside) steaks!
1
I’m with you, girlfriend. Great piece.
6
The Lord knew we needed guilt-free rest and gave us the Sabbath.
6
I’ve got a failing heart. Every day is a sick day. I understand the feeling behind the article but sheesh, this article just comes off as the writings of a spoilt kid. I would swap with you if I could, you have the failing cardiovascular system and I have the sniffles? You get the muscle cramps, the breathlessness, the hospital trips and the early death and I get the cough syrup? Please? I want to go back to work - it’s soul-destroying being so useless and weak.
44
Nicely written and evocative. And I am all for you diving into your "ailments", ducking under the covers, and babying/caring for yourself. But please, leave the professionals out of it. We all have far too many patients with real illnesses, trying to deal with serious issues with scant resources. Be grateful for your good health and get your comfort elsewhere
3
The news is so depressing that we all want to take refuge under a duvet and sip warm, comforting liquids and be fussed over. Yet there is a huge difference between feeling mildly unwell, and being truly ill. With the former, it is easier to relax, to rest, to pamper oneself and let others pamper one. I am blessed with good health; yet having had an emergency appendectomy several years ago, I can assure Ms. Ortega that appendicitis is nothing to fantasize about. It was frightening, extremely painful, and one does not immediately bounce back after surgery to full strength.
I know this essay is meant to be playful, but better to fantasize about perfect health and its gifts, rather than any sickness, temporary or otherwise.
2
Chronic migraine sufferer here... 40 percent of every month I am experiencing a sick day in bed. The other days I’m afraid I’ll have one. But don’t worry, I’m not going to come down on the viewpoint expressed here. Just wanted to add that as a mom of healthy teenage boys I do relate to the “privilege” of doting on them during their minor bouts of illness as a way of expressing my love. And allowing them to escape any pressures they may feel in their life, as well.
As for me, I understand what a miracle it is any day to feel good. :)
13
You're a talented writer - reading this took me back to a Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - describing the simple pleasures with warmth and color, and with a keen sense of self awareness.
6
I heartily agree with the Author. In fact, I spent most of yesterday in bed with the sniffles. It was delightful to be snuggled up, listening to my puppy gently breathing in sleep next to me, and I read an entire book. I did so without guilt, and with gratitude for all I have. The outside world stayed outside. There’s no place like home.
13
I personally don’t like to be sick and would rather be working (or out enjoying life when not working). Last year I had zero sick days, had a very mild cold but that was it. I’m fortunate to have a job I like and look forward to, so no need to “call out” to avoid it. Sure, we all need to decompress and take time off (aka “mental health” days), so I use the weekends, evenings, holidays and vacation for that. As someone else commented - being sick is no fun and the only reward is getting better.
3
Three M&Ms for each antibiotic dose. Plain, peanut or green?
3
Wow - 3? I hope my daughter doesn't read this. I only gave her one when I was potty training her - and a plain one to boot!
1
Those of us who can take “sick days” without worry of job loss and perhaps this losing shelter, insurance, and whatever, can enjoy a cozy guilt-free rest. The trick for many of us may be learning to allow for guilt-free rest without the sniffles.
15
A worthy subject. Thankfully the writer found an acceptable and “healthy” outlet to reset and rest. While the writer appeared to have loving parents and was brought up with all of the privileges that her environment offered, acknowledging that rest and downtime are routinely needed would have done her and her parents good. It’s a shame that we have to “work” through our guilt and make excuses in order for us to relax and take time off. Donating blood in order to take the day off is commendable. I’m already feeling guilty!
15
I don’t look forward to being sick, but it is a reset button for me as well. It gives me time to take care of myself both emotionally and physically. We all need a day to ourselves every now and then to concentrate on ourselves so that we can be better persons. Sometimes, it takes being sick to remind us how important “me” time is in our hectic lives.
23
A clever and delightful piece of writing, it is the chicken soup for the guilt ridden type B patient.
25
I know Ms. Ortega means no offense, and I do understand what she means, but as a person who contracts a cold (mild but unhibiting) once every two weeks during the "cold season" I can't help but be irritated. I do really wish I could indulge in resting when I'm sick too, but at the current rate of contraction I'm forced to carry on regardless.
11
I must live in an alternate universe than you. I don't think there is anything pleasant about being sick except getting better. As a physician, I would bet that 99.99% of my patients also feel that way.
57
What a wonderful essay! Ms. Ortega elegantly captures the guilty pleasure around being ill - it really can be delicious!! I'm not sure what I appreciate more - her wit or her candor. Keep writing - the world needs your voice!
26