Fending off being sick…

Since I graduated from NSC, I have found that I haven’t been getting sick as often as I used to.  I believe the contributing factor of becoming ill a lot is stress.

I had so much on my plate the last few years that it I wasn’t really taking care of myself.  I’d skip my vitamins, skip meals, and even ignore the signs of when my body would scream for sleep or rest.  Ultimately, the result of the lack of taking care of me would be my being sick constantly, usually around midterms and finals.

I’d get these colds that I couldn’t shake for a month.  I’d lose my voice and have to teach in a hoarse whisper, while using a microphone to amplify my weak voice.  I’d sleep through weekends because I would stay up until 12-1am in the morning working on my projects and papers, only to turn around and get up at 5am to get myself and the kids ready to head out of the door.  It was this vicious repeated cycle that never allowed me to catch up with myself.

I know that stress was a contributing factor to my health now, especially since I really haven’t been sick this school year.  I only called out once, and that was a stomach bug I could not shake with Pepto Bismal.  That was a gross day to deal with, and I will leave it at that.  However, the most I have had to deal with this year is my allergies.

Up until now.

I believe this is the first time since Fall 2008 that I have felt like I could sleep a week to make whatever is attempting to break me down go away.  My ears have been bothering me, my nose has been running, and my forehead has been feeling like a huge semi-truck has just crashed into my cranium at about 100+mph.  The meds I take that help me feel so much better makes me very drowsy.  I suppose the intent of the medicine is to make me sleepy to get rest.  The rest results in my immune system building back up.  If only I could find a non-drowsy that works just as well as the meds I take, I’d be on cloud nine!

But it also comes down to my skipping my vitamins and other meds again.  I have been completely lazy last week when I should have known better.  I knew my allergies were bothering me, and when I cut out the vitamins, getting hit with a sinus infection is always the bitter case that takes over my sanity. 

Procrastination.  Don’t allow it to consume you, people!  Don’t allow procrastination to persuade you into putting off the small, minor things in life.  All it will do is snowball into one huge problem.  In my case, I feel it snowballing into a sinus infection.

I have no one else to blame but myself.  I mean, I could blame society for allowing my students to come in sick as dogs, coughing and sneezing everywhere.  Parents should not allow their kids to come to school sick, but they do.  The various reasons are so widespread, it really isn’t worth getting into.  I just try to make them feel as comfortable as possible by keeping plenty of tissues on hand, as well as copious amounts of hand sanitizer.  I have been spraying my desks and chairs down with Clorox Hard Surfaces spray every other day to break down the germs in the classroom. 

So, this week, I am going to keep it light and easy for all of us.  With proficiency testing going on with most of my students, they do not need the added pressure of new lessons.  We will be working on propaganda techniques used in skits.  This will allow me to take a breather of trying to gear in actual lessons into a deceptive song and dance to get them to learn, and they will get a break from hurting their brains even more.

So, I am going to take my own advice and get some rest.  I have a few small things to finish up, and then I will turn in early for the night.