Thursday, January 17, 2008

Sheep At Work

Anyone wandering past my classroom today might have thought I was doing nothing.  That would be the best case scenario.  Truthfully, most people probably thought I had expired there.  Which is, of course, how any good teacher would want to go.  Seated at the big desk, surrounded by mounds of paperwork, bent paper clips littering the floor and random sticky notes clinging to every surface...that's a real grave for a real teacher!

I could see why passers-by might leap to the conclusion that I was either dead or slacking.  I was pretty much immobile for most of the morning.  When one's eyes are at half-mast from the pressure of the sinuses and one is experiencing the lack of oxygen that results from only being able to work with a quarter nostril, movement is not only inadvisable, it is downright dangerous.  But, there was a great deal going on in spite of all appearances.  A great deal, indeed.

Firstly, there were the weather checks.  Another storm is bearing down upon us and I wanted to see just what I was going to be dealing with tomorrow.  I normally get a few inklings when snowstorms head our way and I can usually predict when the weather is going to result in a Snow Day.  But, my inklings were very, very silent today.  Unsure of how much my Hideous, Horrible Worstest Ever In The Whole Wide World Cold was impacting my inkles, I decided to check the weather reports regularly.  

I'm going with my inklings.  I do not predict a Snow Day.  There will be school tomorrow.

Not that it matters to me.  The other little piece of business to which I was devoting my morning involved coming up with educational sorts of activities with which to keep my darling students busy tomorrow for the half day that school will be in session.  Like many schools systems, ours has gone to using early release days in lieu of full workshop days to get all the trainings and stuff taken care of so that we don't have to bill the taxpayers for our working year round.  And this sort of stuff is really very important.  

Just not so important that I am feeling like I can drag my eight hundred pound sinuses in for one more day.  By 10:00 this morning, I had successfully managed to create some pretty interesting packets for the kids to work on tomorrow while I lie abed and make lots of little whimpering noises and blow my nose like a trumpet.  I am taking a sick day.  The world of education will have to limp along without me for a brief period.  

Any thoughts I might have had regarding my indispensable nature were pretty much put to rest when I began to announce to teachers that I would not be in tomorrow.   Several people vigorously thanked their god and told me that I probably should have made this decision several days ago when the gooey-ness first started.  Point taken.

With tomorrow's schedule now decided and a holiday weekend to follow, I have a four day weekend with which to work.  As I do not anticipate suddenly deciding to scale a mountain or hike through the South of France, I'm guessing that I'll probably do a little knitting.  The gallons of cold medication purchased this afternoon are probably going to leave me fit to do little else.  I'm hoping to finish up the Cute Widdle Baby Sockies and get the ties secured to the front of the baby kimono.  I'm also hoping to start another pair of fingerless mitts.  

Or I'll nap.  It's anyone's guess at this point...

SA

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you plan on drinking gallons of Nyquil, I'm gonna bet on the napping. :) I hope you feel much better by Tuesday (or before).

Unknown said...

Hope you feel better soon. 70, muggy and rain here in Central Florida.

sheep#100 said...

Go with the nap. You won't have to *pan*.. If you knit on (k)Nyquil, you will have to *tink*.

Anne said...

I'm with you on the inklings .. it's just going to be nasty, cold, and rainy. A sick day sounds just the ticket!

Kath said...

Yah, I'd say you and your sinuses are due for a sick day. And were I one of your co-workers or the CTA, I'd be grateful to see you keep your cooties at home.

But watch out with that cold medication - or you could end up with the Cute Widdle Baby Socks attached to the front of the Baby Kimono! ;)

mehitabel said...

Naps are good. I took one today after my trip to Webs. Well, I had to of course, that place is always overwhelming and they have now upped the lighting in the warehouse so that you can actually see what is there.
A few things followed me home...j
My sinuses are a little happier here in Mass. than they were in windy dusty SoCal, and the rest of me is a whole lot happier! If only I didn't have to go back..

Rabbitch said...

Do not attempt to knit lace while high on Nyquil. (and I hope you get better soon)

Mia said...

oh yes, sick days are good. So are gallons of cough syrup :)

Hope ya feel better Sheepie so you can enjoy your four day weekend!

Cursing Mama said...

I'm sure there is a nap or seven in you.

Anonymous said...

Good call on the sick day. Enjoy your Nyquil and try to get better.
Karen
http://nothingbutknit.blog-city.com/

Anne P said...

Feel better soon! I hope the long weekend is JUST the ticket to rejuvinate!

Sheila said...

Glad you're taking a sick day....as I read the first couple of paragraphs from your entry, I wondered why you had gone in. Doesn't Nyquil make you hyper?

I know it is my fault for falling off the 'regular reader bandwagon', but for whom are these lovely widdle things being knit? Are you going to be an Aunti Sheep?

Anonymous said...

I suggest that you Knit a little, Nap a little, Knit a little, Nap a little; etc., etc., etc. all weekend long. That ought to cure ya!

Yarnhog said...

Okay, I've been trying to avoid spreading the gospel of the WaterPic, because it sounds gross and I think I scare people a little, but I can't stand it any longer. How to fix your sinuses:
Go to the drugstore. Buy a WaterPic and an attachment called a "nasal irrigator." Fill the water reservoir with lukewarm water and a teaspoon of salt. Set the water pressure to the lowest or second lowest level. Lean over the sink, breathe through your mouth, press the nasal irrigator to one nostril, and turn on the WaterPic. The water will shoot up your nose, swirl around your sinuses, and come out the other nostril. When half the water is gone, stop, blow your nose gently, and switch nostrils. I swear on my children it does not hurt and you will not drown. What will happen is that all that gunk that is clogging up your sinuses will be washed out and you will feel much, much better. Do this once a day until you're all better. I do this regularly, and even my young kids ask for the WaterPic when they're sick.
Sorry for the lengthy and yucky comment.

Anonymous said...

I'd recommend Jack Daniels (mixed lightly with club soda and over ice, twist of lime/lemon optional) instead of Nyquil. Cheaper by a lot, a lot more fun, same effect in the end -- a nice nap.

Good luck. You may want to go with a garter stitch scarf, given your medication of choice.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and is that you pictured on Franklin's blog today? Knitter # 0286?

Ronni said...

I hope you start feeling better soon enough to enjoy some of your holiday weekend. I always feel terrifically cheated when I spend holidays sick.

If you haven't tried it, try Traditional Medicinals' "Breathe Easy" herbal tea for your sinuses. It helps mine a lot.

Kris said...

Enjoy the sick day. Napping sounds like a good option given the gallons of Nyquil (tm)

Knitting Linguist said...

It's tomorrow now, and I hope you've had a restful day and are feeling marginally less sinusy! Naps are good. Naps after large cups of hot tea are also good. Feel better soon :0