Sick Day

Today, I needed a sick day. I probably should have had a sick week - my poor co-worker has probably been exposed to enough coughing and groaning for one week, maybe for a lifetime. So I called this morning and said "could you please stay home today...I really feel lousy." I did feel lousy, and since we work out of my house, I felt pretty ridiculous, making him take a day off because I was sick instead of him, but what are you going to do? I can't drag through the house in my bathrobe with my hair in a snarl if I have a co-worker here.

So, I got a quiet day at home, with the house all to myself. Though it was cold this morning, only about 4 degrees above zero, the sky was clear and the day was sunny. I so rarely see the front portion of our house (which faces south) during the sunny daytime. Sure, I negotiate my way to the kitchen regularly for a cup of coffee, but I don't linger, I go back to work in my corner of the lower level, north-facing family room. Even on weekends, if I take time in the treehouse, it also faces north. So today, after a soak in the tub and a light breakfast, I gathered books and magazines, tea and toast, and settled in near the fireplace of the living room. It was a glorious day, with bright sunlight, quiet and peaceful. Despite my bleary eyes, throbbing head, and coughing fits, I took so much pleasure just being in my home. What a treat.

The hairy boys like it when I'm home and quiet and they get some attention, too. When I dozed in the chair, they dozed too. Of course, Murphy's snoring wakes me on occasion, but that's ok. Buddy sometimes sighs, and shuffles off to sleep elsewhere. Later in the day, I wandered into the bedroom and found him asleep on his bed in a pool of striped sunshine.

When we still lived in NC, the gal that did a lot of painting and repair work for us told us she thought he looked like a scatter rug. That's a pretty accurate description, isn't it?

Here's the view out the window and the cause of the striped sunshine. It doesn't look quite as warm as one would expect from Buddy's pool of light, but it has a certain stark beauty, doesn't it?

At the end of the day, I don't feel much better. I wonder if another sick day is in order.