Do you know anyone who just goes and goes until they can’t go anymore? And they just push through each day, trying to get through it, when physically and emotionally they are 100% spent? Well, I’m usually that girl. But not today. Today, I called in sick.
It’s interesting that I had a battle with myself this morning about calling in sick to my boss. Thoughts like “well, will he think I’m lazy? or “I’m taking off Friday so I can’t take off today” swam through my mind before my roommate bluntly said it, “Elsa, everybody gets sick. It’s okay to take a day off.”
Sometimes I manage to think that I am invincible. If I just push through this week everything will be fine, even though I’m coming down with a cold and totally emotionally exhausted from the roller coaster of emotions life has me on right now. But no, I can’t skip work. That is so unlike me. My pride seems to get in the way and I forget that I’m human. We are all human.
And everybody gets sick.
I have needs too. I’m tired too and it is best for me to lay in bed all day and get better. After a pep talk to myself in the mirror, and after showering and getting all my things together for work, I realized it was best for me to call in sick. Nobody is depending on me like I think they are and it is okay to not have it all together. New year, new me, and that means doing things I wouldn’t normally do to take care of me. So I called in sick.
After sleeping for a few hours and drinking I don’t even know how much water and tea, I began thinking about quicksand. I read an interesting fact about quicksand the other day that the only way out of it is by laying on your back–essentially, in order to be saved, you have to stop struggling. You have to stop fighting.
You have to do nothing.
And when you do nothing and lay on your back, your feet will slowly rise & you will be freed. I’m the kind of person that thinks if you try harder and do more, you’ll be okay and get the answers you need. But maybe this simple life lesson in taking care of myself this morning and spending the day doing nothing has turned into something a little more profound.
We all need to stop trying so hard. Nobody really cares, and the people that do care don’t really care how hard you try. You don’t have to be invincible. You don’t have to have it all together. You can take care of you–because sometimes, the best way we can take care of others is to take care of ourselves first. I am going on a ski trip this weekend that I have been looking forward to for months. How will I really enjoy that trip and have fun with my friends if I’m sick and exhausted because I just “pushed through” the week and didn’t take care of me?
I never realized the importance of taking care of myself until recently. This past week has been a whirlwind. So much has happened in my own life and the lives of those around me, no wonder I am so exhausted. My mom has been in the hospital. She had 2 major back surgeries and is recovering a lot slower than the doctors expected. It has all been exhausting. My poor mama is still in a ton of pain and just wants to go home, and my dad has been working his little fanny off taking care of her, making all of the arrangements for her care while also driving to and from the ski mountain to train for his ski patrol certification. It’s a crazy life us Ketchums live, if you haven’t noticed. And I tend to take after my father.
Do, do, do. Get more done. That will make everything better.
But sometimes, it doesn’t. And today? I’m sick. I’m exhausted. And I am staying in bed all day and doing nothing. I’m going to stop fighting the struggle today and just enjoy a day to myself, where nothing is expected of me, even if I may be under the weather. Do you feel like you’re sinking in quicksand in some area? Maybe instead of trying harder, you just need to do nothing. Lay on your back, and wait for your feet to rise up & get unstuck. Nobody ever said you had to be invincible.
xo.
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