12:24 a.m. - 2002-10-03
Sick Day
It felt like a Mack truck had hit me when I woke up this morning. Didn't notice any tire tracks so I'm assuming that I probably picked up the flu that's making the rounds here.
Called in sick to work, woke my youngest so he could get off to school, and then went back to bed for the day.
Lots of odd dreams. They seemed to be about celebrating and family time. I remember bits and pieces. Standing on a second floor landing with a bunch of other children - think I was about 10 years old in the dream - decorating a massive Christmas tree that was anchored on the floor below. It felt warm and exciting. Going to the dry goods store to buy lots of ribbons and lace. Partly for sewing as finishing on a dress and some for making presents. Baking. Sitting with a close friend just enjoying being together. I don't understand why the theme of Christmas keeps coming up for me right now but it is comforting.
When my son came home from school at the end of the day we walked over to the store to buy a fall coat for him. It's getting too cool to leave it any longer and he has outgrown most of his fall and winter clothes from last year. He is much bigger through the shoulders than his brothers, so handing something down from them is not an option. For the longest time, hand me downs were all I could manage for the boys and myself and that was fine. What we needed always seemed to be there when it was important and the boys learned very early that their value as a person had nothing to do with the cloth on their backs. In some ways it helped foster the skill of independent thinking I was trying to teach them because following the crowd or the trends wasn't possible even on an unconscious level. Going into a retail store and actually buying stuff seems strange. It's nice to be able to not worry so much about money but I still feel a little guilty about spending it. I doubt I'll ever acquire the consumption disease. Recycling has always been part of our lifestyle.
I think though I'm going to head back to bed. I still don't feel very well but I don't want to miss another day of work.
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