Now you need to get off the computer and just rest.

When I first started working, I wasn't sure if my boss liked me. She wasn't a fuzzy, chatty Southerner. She didn't laugh a lot. Her emails were (are) often one liners - direct with no fluff. When she intercommed me with a, "Hey Anna, can you come up here," my heart would stop and I would wonder what I had done wrong. She has this eye roll and eyebrow raise that I couldn't read (though now it cracks me up and I try to be just ridiculous enough to get her to do it). But I liked her, and as we've worked together these past few months I have really grown to respect her. She isn't a fuzzy, chatty person - and I am really glad. I know she will always be honest and direct. She handles mistakes by telling us to fix it (and helping us fix it) and to do better next time. Novel, right? She works hard and expects us to, but she also operates under the philosophy that our jobs aren't our whole lives and we need to take time off. Even if she has to force us...

View from the floor

I had some back spasms last week that pretty much laid me out flat for the whole 7 days. I know that rest + drugs are the only cure but I just kept figuring they would go away. I also know I'm not indispensable at my job (so the organization isn't going under if I'm not there), but I was raised to push through pain and keep going. There was really no degree of sickness that warranted staying home from school unless you were actively vomiting. I know the purpose was to develop a good work ethic and to be responsible, but let's be honest - sometimes you just need to stay home.

Urgent care is the place to be!

So when Shamae says to stay home and rest, I know she means it. I was attempting to work from home while lying flat when she sent me one of her famous one line emails - the title of this blog. This was after I tried to go into work the day before and she sent me home with an unceremonious, "bye." Seriously. She came into my office, saw my heating pad, and just said "bye" while waving me toward the door. So I took Shamae's advice (i.e. command) and shut my computer. She also suggested I might need to go see a doctor, which turned out to be a good idea. Over the next couple days I watched an entire season of Grimm and slept a lot, thanks to the muscle relaxer Flexeril. And - surprise, surprise - felt better. Now I'm trying to rework my narrative to weave in this new way of thinking - stopping to rest and take care of yourself, that doing so isn't self indulgent or lazy. So thanks, Shamae. This one's for you.