Sick Day?

I moved my day off this week from its usual slot on Wednesday to today, on very short notice. The reason was a headache that started pianissimo at about 2:30 yesterday afternoon. I told my boss that my built-in weather detector was predicting rain. The pain swelled to about mezzo forte by my 4:30 quitting time, nearly made me too sick to drive while I was heading home, and then, except for a brief snooze in the evening, kept me up until nearly 4:00 this morning.

The pain approached fortissimo a few times, but mostly throbbed at mezzo-forte with occasional sforzandi. I couldn't concentrate on anything. I couldn't lie down flat. At times I was too agitated to sit still; at times I was nauseous. Finally, at about 3:40, the pain went down enough for me to realize how bloody exhausted I was. So I went to bed. My alarm woke me, cruelly, at 5. I re-set it to wake me at 6:25 (when I usually arrive at work) and, when it rang again, called my boss and simply said: "May I move my day off from tomorrow to today?" He said yes, and I went back to bed for several more hours.

Rest was the best medicine. Although I continued to have sotto voce echoes of the headache through this afternoon, actually being able to sleep did me a world of good. And I learned another reason to be thankful for my "4-10" work schedule, and the employer who lets me change my day off when needed!

Oh yes - and it rained today. So my weather detector is still good.