Being sick is absolutely no fun. Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is itching for a fight. Yesterday I came down with what I can only describe as a severe head cold. I couldn’t breathe. My eyes were watery. My nose alternated between clogged and runny. And my fever came and went throughout the day. On the advice of my principal, I got hold of a substitute teacher who had been at our school in the morning and offered her an afternoon of work so I could go lay down.
After about an hour’s nap, I felt a little better, and my nose had completely stopped running. Instead, it felt like a concrete truck had poured a full load of high impact concrete into my sinus cavities. It was awful. I tried to drink liquids, but nearly died from suffocation while drinking water simply because there was no way for air to get into my nasal passages. It was awful.
This morning, after an Allegra D and a squirt of Afrin nose spray, I am better. I can breathe. My fever is gone. My eyes are still a bit hazy from it all, but overall I’m probably an 8 out of 10 on a wellness scale.
It did, however, make me think (what doesn’t, right?).
How many times are kids in our classes that should be at home. Maybe they want to go home, but their parents can’t come get them. Or perhaps they are over achievers and want to stay at school no matter what. If they felt half as bad as I did, it wouldn’t be any wonder if they were not able to concentrate or do the work I set out for them.
Sometimes I forget that these are children in my care. I’m more than just a teacher to some of them. I’m a role model. A friend. A big brother. And sometimes I’m a parent.
Being sick yesterday and today has reminded me just how vulnerable some of my students are in this world. I hope I can take better care of them as a result.
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