Sick Day(s)

Right now, it's nearly 1pm on a Sunday afternoon and I've been home all day so far. In fact, I didn't even go to church. Not exactly an earth-shattering confession for most people, but seeing as how I'm a pastor my absence tends to require a little more explanation.

And the explanation: I've got the flu. And I've had it for about a week. For about half the week it's kept me lying in bed resting and sleeping; and for the other half fooling me that perhaps I'm getting better. I thought this yesterday until after supper when such lovely symptoms like a sinus headache, chills, and aches over most of my body returned after more than a day's absence. My wife promptly called one of our deacons to let him know. These symptoms were still there when I woke up this morning and, so, my wife promptly called that same deacon to confirm the fact that I would not be in church this morning. This lucky deacon was then e-mailed a sermon I preached in our previous church so he could read it dutifully to the congregation.

One of the stranger aspects of this is that we live across the street from the church. This means I could peer out the window and see cars filling the parking lot. Could. I didn't. Though I did sneak a peek as people were leaving after the service, wondering to myself how things went and wishing I could have been a fly on the wall.

As a pastor, unless your weekly schedule is brimming over with appointments and meetings (mine is not!), the only day when people will notice you taking a sick day is Sunday. Some of the more cynical and ignorant might well think incredulously, "The only day of the week he works, and he's sick?" Thankfully, I don't believe anyone in our church is that cynical or ignorant.

It was also extra-odd because by mid-morning (say 10am) I began to feel a little better and by 11am, which is when our service begins, I felt noticeably better. Like any reasonable person, I began to feel like I could have made it to the service. Nevermind that since I was sick most of the week, including Saturday night, that I had not been able to complete my planned sermon. But as my wife reminded me, I had taken some medication, which would relieve the symptoms, and I still had a mild fever, and I shouldn't take the chance and pass on the flu to someone else.

I should say that it is not only a sick day for me. Our little girl is still fighting a cold, one she's had for three weeks. Like me, her symptoms have come and gone and come again. If she had been feeling this morning as good as she did a couple of days ago, she and my wife likely would have gone to church. As it is, my wife didn't want to leave home with a sick little girl with a runny nose and persistent cough and who also was truly fed up with being sick. At one point, she opined, "I hate my nose!"

Anyway, this flu is one reason I haven't been back here posting in awhile. I'm beginning to feel better at the moment, but I've learned already not to take that feeling at face value. So while I'd like to say I'll be posting more soon, that depends on how many sick days are actually left!