I tweeted this at around 10:00 this morning:
“I have just realised that I can stay at work and be a stupid martyr or simply get in my car and go home to bed.’grabs bag’
Today I went to work when I shouldn’t have. I felt like crap and I sounded worse, but I felt like I would set a bad example if I just stayed home.
Now I’m wondering what kind of example I set by going to work and potentially making my staff sick.
In response @deniswright tweeted me this link.
The article deals with regrets terminally ill patients have about their lives so I have been pondering them and here are my thoughts. I challenge you to do this meme too as a sort of emotional barometer.
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
I think my life is true. Sometimes too true and in your face honest. And sometimes downright bitchy. I gave up living the life I thought my parents wanted me to live a long time ago and am much better off. Not that they didn’t only want the best for me, it just wasn’t the best for me right then.
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
I was very guilty of this before we had children. I used to work 12 hour days without breaking a sweat. I once broke my ankle and after surgery and spending 3 days in hospital I still only took 7 days sick leave. Life is too short. Trust me.
In saying that, having children caused me to re-evaluate my relationship with work and my perception of my own worth in relation to work. It took me a long time to figure it out and I’m still busy trying to find the balance. I have realised that there isn’t a solution that will work longterm, you need to constantly check that what you are doing is still working. What I learned most recently is that I’m not ready to be either a Stay-at-home-Mom or a Work-at-home-Mom.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
I express my feelings ad nauseum, but not always to the right people. And sometimes when someone really really close to me hurts me I’m not able to say so. Another work in progress.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
Tough one. I’m not a really good friend at the moment as I started working full day recently and I’m still trying to find my feet. So, to all my friends reading this: know that I love you and think of you often even though I don’t call and write as often. You know who you are..
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that I’m pretty happy. Yes, I wish I could have less debt, an iPad and more time, but I have everything that matters to me and I’ll be damned if I’m going to jeopardise it.
If you blog yours, please comment here and leave the link?
Much to think about, but yes, I also tend not to take sick days and it is so not right.
I need to practically be at death’s door to take a day, I suppose its cause I feel everything will fall apart without me? Or more likely, that I’ll be crushed when I’m shown they’ll get along fine even if I’m out sick….
Lovely meme, will have to do it sometime 😉
One of my colleagues got an ear infection that she left unattended because of work, she did the usual antiB’s etc but came back to work too soon and ended up being rushed to casualty with a burst ear drum. Now she’s almost lost all the hearing in that ear and has to wait to see how much comes back before they reconstruct. We really need to be more mindful of putting ourselves first.