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LIFE WITH FLO: The Series PREV 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 NEXT
March 29, 2005 - Part 29
Today I decided to take the day off.......you know......a Sick Day. Actually it wasn't MY decision at all. Flo's newest recruit, Nanogram #24, actually made the decision FOR me. I met her on Sunday evening AFTER all the traditional Easter festivities, like hard boiled eggs, chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, and the Special Holiday Dinner. I was quite aware that #24 was coming to join us, and I thought I was prepared. Well, you know how it goes. Each and every Nanogram is different in her own way. However, I found it very impolite of Nanogram #24 not to send me special instructions before she arrived. It would have been appreciated had she simply dropped me a note saying something like: WARNING: 24 HOURS PRIOR TO MY ARRIVAL AT YOUR HOME DO NOT CONSUME WHOLE WHEAT ROLLS, RAW VEGETABLES, ALL-BRAN, BEANS, OR ANY OTHER EDIBLE PRODUCTS THAT RESEMBLE FIBER IN ANY WAY. By now you've figured out that Nanogram #24 had chosen Green Apple Trot to ride shot-gun as she made her way into tow! n. Flo was not at all happy about this herself. She apologized for #24's behavior, and explained how difficult it was to find a new Nanogram in the first place. Apparently (the story goes) with the holiday rush and all, there wasn't much left to pick from, and all they had left were the crabby and disgruntled Nanograms who were angry about having to work the holiday. I told Flo not to worry about it. What the heck. I'm getting quite used to taking Sick Days anyway. This made me stop and think about having PH and how "taking Sick Days" is the part that you just don't "get" when you are first diagnosed. Everything is suddenly upside down and inside out, but you don't see it at first. I'll try to explain. Before PH, here we are, going along, living our lives, just like everyone else. Most of us have had a job and we would get maybe 5 Sick Days a year.....10 if we had a really GOOD job, like with the government. And, if I remember correctly, it was usually kind of fun to take a Sick Day, unless you were REALLY, REALLY sick, but how often did THAT actually happen? So now here we are, all diagnosed with PH, and getting treatment of some kind or another, or both. And while we are getting treatment most of us are no longer employed. Well, we are SORT OF employed. It's just that our new job IS the PH. I know that sounds bad, sad, and generally negative, HOWEVER, there is a silver lining in this sometimes very dark cloud: WE GET TO TAKE ALL THE SICK DAYS WE WANT!!! Now, what could be better than THAT, I ask you!......Ummmm.......Flo didn't know either. So, here's what we have to do to finally "get" it. We have to start THINKING upside down and inside out. In other words, we should NOT be thinking in terms of taking SICK DAYS, because THAT'S WHAT WE DO FOR A LIVING NOW. So, instead, we need to think in terms of taking WELL DAYS. And when we are so privileged as to be able to take a WELL DAY, we can feel just as excited as when we used to work and then took a SICK DAY!! Now, here's the secret to getting the most out of each and every WELL DAY that we are granted. And I'll say it really loud so you won't forget it: NEVER EVER USE A WELL DAY TO DO STUPID THINGS LIKE CLEANING, LAUNDRY, OR DOING YOUR TAXES. Save those activities for your usual, ordinary, and abundant SICK DAYS so that other people will help you do them. And use your WELL DAYS for "LIVING"......you know.....LIKE FUN STUFF!!! As my Sick Day wound down this evening I took a little time to talk with Flo. I explained to her that I need her to work a little harder, so that more WELL DAYS can be added to my benefits package. She reminded me that she will be bringing in one more recruit next Sunday, making a total of 25 Nanograms. And then, with the warmest emotion she could muster at 40 degrees Fahrenheit, she promised that once she has all 25 of them on board she will push them day and night to produce as many WELL DAYS as I want, even if she has to turn herself inside out and upside down to do it.
LIFE WITH FLO: The SeriesPREV 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 NEXT
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