I did quite a bit of both actually, but mostly in elementary school. I remember when Kaylene and I shared a room and I I found out she was sick I would work really hard to get 'sick' so that we could stay home together and play. I think we mostly made forts and watched movies and pretty awesome stuff like that. As far as actually being sick, the worst was when I got the flu and stayed home for almost 2 weeks. I think all I did was sleep that whole time. I would try and get up, but wherever I landed I would just fall asleep again. The real bummer was that it was at the same time as try-outs for club volleyball and I missed them. Luckily, they let me come to the first practice as my try out and I made it. It was an interesting time.
There was a certain magic about sick days. It started with some degree of discomfort. It could be a stomach ache, head ach, sore throat, or any number of things. Then there was the mental debate. “Could I make this a sick day?” The key to selling the sick day was the presentation when mom or dad came down to your room to wake you up. If I made the right groan, cough or gag, accompanied by a convincing, “I’m not feeling very good” I had a chance. I would always be a little nervous and sweaty up until the other kids left for school. Then a wave of relief would come over me. I had done it. I had not lied really. Our loving mother was so worried about our health that she had me convinced that I could get much worse. That must be why she always asked how I was feeling throughout the day. Sleeping in was the first bonus. Playing with toy cars on the old brown upstairs carpet was usually pretty fun too. I don’t remember many specific episodes, so my strongest memory is the silent house after dad took the healthy kids to school. That moment of victory was the best prescription for relieve.
I wish there were "I feel to good to go to work" days. I do remember being sick and home form school when I was 13 years old. I was asleep and the phone rang. I got up and went down the hall to my parents bedroom to answer the phone. The call was for our Maid, Manuella who cleaned our home a couple times a week. I answered the call, the person asked if Manuella was home. I answered yes and promptly hung up as I had answered their question and went back to sleep.
I also remembering sleeping on the top bunk on a sick day and my sister came in to wake me up. I was on my side with my back toward her. She gently taped my shoulder, I rolled over and slugged her right in the mouth and immediately rolled back on my side asleep.
Mostly being sick was a great time with Mom. One time in Dell City (9 years old) I had been very sick and was healed by a priesthood blessing the night before. Mom wanted me not to go to school so she had me stay home the next day. I pestered her with a number of questions, one was why do stars fall? She told me to write to the newspaper, the El Paso Times and ask them as they had an article that answered questions. I wrote and a few weeks later they posted my question and I won a set of Britanica Junior Encyclopedias and a tour of the El Paso Times newspaper.
So when I was in elementary school, they gave rewards at the end of the year to anyone with perfect attendance. I NEVER missed. Until... one Sunday afternoon, I bit my tongue open almost the whole way through and I had to get stitches. The next morning, my tongue was so swollen that I couldn't fit it inside my mouth. I guess it was a pretty good excuse for missing school.
Being sick in my home was a big deal. My mom had taken a home nursing class so everything was done by the book. We were confined to our rooms in bed. . . in other words we were quarantined from the rest of the family and all the fun. Mom made sure we drank lots of fluids which she brought in between the meals we ate in bed. We got sponge baths and clean sheets and had every physical need taken care of. You didn't get out of the room until you were cured or at least that is the way I remember it. I also don't remember pretending to be sick. Hmm, guess Grandma was pretty smart.
I did find ways to stay home sick during middle school. I remember there were some tv shows on during the day that I would never see at any other time. I don't recall being really sick much. But in high school there were certainly many times that I missed a class to finish a paper or a project. I guess the best example for me is that I would often ditch Smeinary. I had to go because I had to take Christian, Sarah Hudson, and then pick up the Ingersolls. But after picking them up, I wouldn't always go to class. Many times my senior year I sat by my locker and read my AP English assignments. A couple of times I even went out for breakfast during that time. I did all the make up work so that I could graduate, but I really didn't care much for Seminary. My teacher was terribly boring. I was also just about the only senior in the entire class-- I just wasn't blessed like the rest of the family to have great Seminary teachers. I was the only senior to go to the seminary bowl that year because Dad forced me to go. He assured me that there would be others from my grade, but there weren't. However, I arranged with my teacher that for every speed point I earned for our team would count as a day of make up for me. I made up several days that night, so I guess it was the best decision.
I know I tried the "staying home sick" thing but my mom is a good lie detector and if we were sick we did not do anything but sleep and read - so no fun. Once I got older and school was more demanding and teachers would not let me make up homework even if the absence was excused or it was more of a hassle than it was worth I stopped trying. My favorite sick day was when my family just moved to Colorado and all the kids (5 at home at the time) were sick. My mom works so we were all home alone (keep in mind the oldest was my sister who was a senior in high school at the time). My 1st grade teacher called the house because my mom forgot to call the school and asked for my mom. I told her she was not there, so my teacher asked if I was home alone. I told her no and she asked to speak with someone so I asked who do you want to speak with and listed off 4 names. I remember my teacher being a little perplexed. Also, it is tradition that the sick kids go into mom and dad’s bed so all 5 of us were crowded in my parents bed watching afternoon soaps. It was fun!
I did enjoy staying home sick. Even more when I wasn't sick. I am sure that didn't happen to often. My most memorable staying home sick time was when christian and I were both in elementary school and sick for reals. This was when the Nintendo was fairly new and we were trying to beat Zelda. I don't know how we got to do this but we spent the entire day down in dad's office (when it had the green carpet) on the big orange chair in our pajamas playing Zelda. Every time we would finish a level or get a new sword the screen would flicker with bright lights. We would groan and cover our eyes because they were sensitive with this particular sickness. That was a fun day of being sick. In my freshman year of college after Christmas break there was a sickness that spread down the dorm hall. When it hit me i was exhausted all the time. The only problem was that Mom wasn't there to do every thing for me. I walked up to campus to the bookstore and bought a book (a significant thing because I had no money) made it home and crashed. I read the entire book and slept for a couple of days. This was probably memorable because it was my first time sick and taking care of myself. Oh, I remembered one more. This one is a little hazy but here it goes. I think I was off track in middle school so I was home and mom was the one sick. I don't remember what was wrong with her but she was using the hide-a-bed in her office and whenever she had to use the bathroom I had to go and help/carry her there. I can't remember why she couldn't move but I know it took a long time to get her across the hall. We would move a little, stop, laugh and try to move some more. That was a fun time for me too. Maybe not so much for Mom.
10 comments:
I did quite a bit of both actually, but mostly in elementary school. I remember when Kaylene and I shared a room and I I found out she was sick I would work really hard to get 'sick' so that we could stay home together and play. I think we mostly made forts and watched movies and pretty awesome stuff like that. As far as actually being sick, the worst was when I got the flu and stayed home for almost 2 weeks. I think all I did was sleep that whole time. I would try and get up, but wherever I landed I would just fall asleep again. The real bummer was that it was at the same time as try-outs for club volleyball and I missed them. Luckily, they let me come to the first practice as my try out and I made it. It was an interesting time.
There was a certain magic about sick days. It started with some degree of discomfort. It could be a stomach ache, head ach, sore throat, or any number of things. Then there was the mental debate. “Could I make this a sick day?” The key to selling the sick day was the presentation when mom or dad came down to your room to wake you up. If I made the right groan, cough or gag, accompanied by a convincing, “I’m not feeling very good” I had a chance. I would always be a little nervous and sweaty up until the other kids left for school. Then a wave of relief would come over me. I had done it. I had not lied really. Our loving mother was so worried about our health that she had me convinced that I could get much worse. That must be why she always asked how I was feeling throughout the day. Sleeping in was the first bonus. Playing with toy cars on the old brown upstairs carpet was usually pretty fun too. I don’t remember many specific episodes, so my strongest memory is the silent house after dad took the healthy kids to school. That moment of victory was the best prescription for relieve.
I have never been sick in my whole life, Ive on pretended. but at least i have never ditched a class.
I wish there were "I feel to good to go to work" days. I do remember being sick and home form school when I was 13 years old. I was asleep and the phone rang. I got up and went down the hall to my parents bedroom to answer the phone. The call was for our Maid, Manuella who cleaned our home a couple times a week. I answered the call, the person asked if Manuella was home. I answered yes and promptly hung up as I had answered their question and went back to sleep.
I also remembering sleeping on the top bunk on a sick day and my sister came in to wake me up. I was on my side with my back toward her. She gently taped my shoulder, I rolled over and slugged her right in the mouth and immediately rolled back on my side asleep.
Mostly being sick was a great time with Mom. One time in Dell City (9 years old) I had been very sick and was healed by a priesthood blessing the night before. Mom wanted me not to go to school so she had me stay home the next day. I pestered her with a number of questions, one was why do stars fall? She told me to write to the newspaper, the El Paso Times and ask them as they had an article that answered questions. I wrote and a few weeks later they posted my question and I won a set of Britanica Junior Encyclopedias and a tour of the El Paso Times newspaper.
So when I was in elementary school, they gave rewards at the end of the year to anyone with perfect attendance. I NEVER missed. Until... one Sunday afternoon, I bit my tongue open almost the whole way through and I had to get stitches. The next morning, my tongue was so swollen that I couldn't fit it inside my mouth. I guess it was a pretty good excuse for missing school.
Wow Emily, Sounds like it was a rough fast Sunday.
Being sick in my home was a big deal. My mom had taken a home nursing class so everything was done by the book. We were confined to our rooms in bed. . . in other words we were quarantined from the rest of the family and all the fun. Mom made sure we drank lots of fluids which she brought in between the meals we ate in bed. We got sponge baths and clean sheets and had every physical need taken care of. You didn't get out of the room until you were cured or at least that is the way I remember it. I also don't remember pretending to be sick. Hmm, guess Grandma was pretty smart.
I did find ways to stay home sick during middle school. I remember there were some tv shows on during the day that I would never see at any other time. I don't recall being really sick much. But in high school there were certainly many times that I missed a class to finish a paper or a project. I guess the best example for me is that I would often ditch Smeinary. I had to go because I had to take Christian, Sarah Hudson, and then pick up the Ingersolls. But after picking them up, I wouldn't always go to class. Many times my senior year I sat by my locker and read my AP English assignments. A couple of times I even went out for breakfast during that time. I did all the make up work so that I could graduate, but I really didn't care much for Seminary. My teacher was terribly boring. I was also just about the only senior in the entire class-- I just wasn't blessed like the rest of the family to have great Seminary teachers. I was the only senior to go to the seminary bowl that year because Dad forced me to go. He assured me that there would be others from my grade, but there weren't. However, I arranged with my teacher that for every speed point I earned for our team would count as a day of make up for me. I made up several days that night, so I guess it was the best decision.
I know I tried the "staying home sick" thing but my mom is a good lie detector and if we were sick we did not do anything but sleep and read - so no fun. Once I got older and school was more demanding and teachers would not let me make up homework even if the absence was excused or it was more of a hassle than it was worth I stopped trying. My favorite sick day was when my family just moved to Colorado and all the kids (5 at home at the time) were sick. My mom works so we were all home alone (keep in mind the oldest was my sister who was a senior in high school at the time). My 1st grade teacher called the house because my mom forgot to call the school and asked for my mom. I told her she was not there, so my teacher asked if I was home alone. I told her no and she asked to speak with someone so I asked who do you want to speak with and listed off 4 names. I remember my teacher being a little perplexed. Also, it is tradition that the sick kids go into mom and dad’s bed so all 5 of us were crowded in my parents bed watching afternoon soaps. It was fun!
I did enjoy staying home sick. Even more when I wasn't sick. I am sure that didn't happen to often. My most memorable staying home sick time was when christian and I were both in elementary school and sick for reals. This was when the Nintendo was fairly new and we were trying to beat Zelda. I don't know how we got to do this but we spent the entire day down in dad's office (when it had the green carpet) on the big orange chair in our pajamas playing Zelda. Every time we would finish a level or get a new sword the screen would flicker with bright lights. We would groan and cover our eyes because they were sensitive with this particular sickness. That was a fun day of being sick.
In my freshman year of college after Christmas break there was a sickness that spread down the dorm hall. When it hit me i was exhausted all the time. The only problem was that Mom wasn't there to do every thing for me. I walked up to campus to the bookstore and bought a book (a significant thing because I had no money) made it home and crashed. I read the entire book and slept for a couple of days. This was probably memorable because it was my first time sick and taking care of myself.
Oh, I remembered one more. This one is a little hazy but here it goes. I think I was off track in middle school so I was home and mom was the one sick. I don't remember what was wrong with her but she was using the hide-a-bed in her office and whenever she had to use the bathroom I had to go and help/carry her there. I can't remember why she couldn't move but I know it took a long time to get her across the hall. We would move a little, stop, laugh and try to move some more. That was a fun time for me too. Maybe not so much for Mom.
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