I'm blessed....

Alright... so for the past week I've had a cough... not a bad one, but enough to bother me. Starting Saturday I came down with a slight fever, which carried over to Sunday. I considered staying home on Monday, but I just had way too much work to do this week that it just wasn't an option. (I have 2 ARDs next week as well as the Math and Literacy Family Night that I'm planning.) On Monday I didn't feel so great... I was coughing non-stop and I started feeling kind of achy. After school I decided I needed to see a doctor to at least get something for the cough...

Since I just got on my new insurance I don't have a doctor lined up yet, so I spent an ungodly amount of time waiting to get into Care Now. By the time they got me in, I was MISERABLE. I was shaking, coughing like crazy, and aching all over. I had 99.5 fever (not too bad), and she tested me for the flu. The test ended up coming back negative for the flu but she said that it's not 100% accurate and she definitely thought that's what I had. Unfortunately, the 48 hour time period of the onset had passed and I was out of the window for flu meds. She gave me a prescription for cough meds and a pass for at least 2 days out of work.

By the time I made it back to my apartment after picking up the meds my fever was 102.5 and I literally felt like I was going to die. I couldn't get warm enough under every blanket I own, yet I was sweating like crazy. It didn't make sense. I felt so sick that I told Ryan to come in and check on me in the morning to make sure I was still alive. (Clearly, I was.)

I called my Team Leader Monday night to let her know the situation and we got everything squared away with a sub and stuff. She asked me to send her some stuff for Math and Literacy Night so that people could get some work done for me, so I sent her a few things.

Let me tell you, guys... I have THE. MOST. AMAZING. TEAM. EVER. They really pulled together for me! By lunchtime on Monday I had to send them MORE stuff to do because they had already finished everything. They were calling periodically to check on me, and they had everything under control for me. Today when I sent in some more stuff to my office manager to have her send out for me I received 2 emails back from people telling me to STOP WORKING!! They called me after school, and against everyone's advice I am going back tomorrow. (They told me I sounded horrible on the phone when I talked to them, lol.) But tomorrow is a half day with the kids and I really think I should be able to make it through. Then Friday is Parent/Teacher conferences and I only have a few.

I'm not 100% yet, but I'm on my way. The fever is gone however the terrible cough is still lingering. I'm hoping I'll be back to normal very soon.

And now it's time for the lesson I've learned from this whole mess...
I need to SLOW DOWN and listen to my body. I've been working WAY too many hours, letting myself get far too stressed, not sleeping enough, and not having enough fun. Everyone at work has been telling me this for weeks now, but clearly I don't know how to say no to anyone and I want to prove myself to everyone! Unfortunately, one person can only handle so much. Work cannot take over my life. I need to BALANCE.

I'm so blessed to have an amazing job with incredible coworkers that really know how to step up to the plate.