Esin

thoughts from a sick day

I've been sitting here sipping on my hot tea and contemplating life in 21st century America.
My conclusion is that I think I might move to Europe.

I called in this morning not so much because I feel so crappy I absolutely could not come into work...because I can work feeling pretty awful...but because I work on a floor full of immuno-comprimised patients who I could potentially do some serious damage to by coming to work with a seasonal head cold. In return for my thoughtfulness, the hospital gives me a maximum of 3 call-ins per YEAR and penalizes via pay if I take more than that. woohoo!!

First of all, I know very few people who are lucky enough to be sick less than 3 times a year not to mention other unexpected life events that often call for not being at work.
Second, If we're contagious and a potential threat to our patients and the hospital requests that we not come in, why should it come down on us in the end? It's not like any of us choose to come down with a cold or stomach bug. ("yes please, i'd like one helping of influenza and a coronavirus thanks")

I'm amazed at how obsessed with working our society has become (granted in the healthcare system, you kind of have to have staff 24/7 but their understaffing issues are a different topic for another sick day). I don't think I've held a job where I wasn't guilt tripped in some way for calling in sick or even asking for time off.

I can't imagine this is how God intended life to be. We work 40+ hours a week, lots of us go to school in the evenings, we get in bed late after doing homework, studying, cleaning, finishing up work that we couldn't leave at the office, we attempt to have some family/social time in there somewhere and if there's time left, we try to read a chapter or two of our Bibles because we remember at the last minute that we're supposed to be making time for God in our lives and then we sleep for maybe 5 hours before starting it all back over again at 5 the next morning. As a result, we end up tired, cranky, stressed beyond all reason, spiritually wasted, sick more than we should be and before we know it, months and years of our lives have gone by like a blur. All in the name of work. So we can make money? Why not throw some of the NFLs cash in the general direction of those of us who keep them alive when they get cancer....but I digress.

The Italians have it right. And the French.

What's wrong with getting to work at 9 if you want? taking 2 hour lunches? (we might have fewer digestion issues...) taking siestas? working later if we want to? taking more than a week of vacation (vacation? in my experience, those usually end up leaving me more exhausted than a normal work week...)?

Turkiye was refreshing. You opened up shop whenever you darn well wanted to, you sat outside at street cafes drinking coffee or tea and if the sign at the door said "be back in 20 minutes", you came back in two hours and went and found something else to do in the meantime. Stress? what??

I'm taking a week at Thanksgiving to go to DC/Va Beach and I've already put two weeks on the books for the beginning of May to go wherever I decide. I refuse to live my life like average American because it's just not worth it. I'm stressed enough as it is being in school and working more than full time and I'm tired of it.

Soapbox over.

I'm pouring myself another cup of tea.