203. Playing Hooky

This Okay listener discovered the power of just taking a day off work. 

Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.

INTRO MUSIC

STANDARD NORA INTRO

Okay Caller: Hi Nora, my name is Helen and I live in Wisconsin and I’m an assistant professor at a small college that’s going through some big changes.  Most of the time I work long hours and my family and I still struggle to make ends meet.  Now I know that while I have an important job. I also have been trying to remind myself that my job is not life or death.

I am not an ER nurse. I am not on the  firefighting paramedic team. Um,  And so while I don’t get any paid time off or sick leave, I’m starting to come to terms with the fact that I need to then sometimes make time for myself.  So my okay thing is actually happening right this second. Um, it’s going on as I speak to you because this morning I woke up and I was just too tired.

I just couldn’t get out of bed. I couldn’t do it.  And instead of feeling terrible guilt about that, or instead of pushing through and forcing myself to be exhausted,  I decided to play hooky a little bit. So I texted our department secretary,  and I said, please let my students know that they can start on the lab, and I will be a little late.

And then I went back to sleep for 30 minutes. And then I took a long, leisurely shower, and blow dried my hair.  And it’s okay.  I’m, I’m now in my car and I’m going to get my favorite coffee and go in and do the best job that I can.  But I realized that somewhere along the way, playing hooky went from a fun day running errands with my mom to some sort of shameful thing if I wasn’t working my absolute hardest. 

And I’ve been working pretty darn hard lately. And so I decided, let’s see what happens. And I came outside, the sky has not fallen, the earth has not turned upside down, and I am trying to learn that it is okay to have to rest sometimes, and that doesn’t make me or you or anyone a bad employee or weak, it just means that we’re people. 

So, I hope that this shares.  The idea for someone else that they can take a little time for themselves and the world won’t fall down.  Bye. 

STANDARD OUTRO

OUTRO MUSIC

CREDITS