Over the past few weeks, it seems like Americans have agreed it is time to get over COVID. No more masks on planes, no more showing a vax card to get into a bar, and the COVID case ticker has been replaced with MLB scores. Recently, I have gotten to enjoy some of the things the pandemic took away from me. I went to opening weekend at Coors Field with packed stands and without an usher telling me to pull my mask above my nose, even though I was outside, and every other row of bleachers was roped off. Laughed uncontrollably as an in-person spectator to see multiple great comedians which included Dave Chapelle, John Mulaney, and Chris DiStefano. But the one thing I didn’t realize until I called in sick for a mental health day, is how great it feels to take a day off and do nothing when it isn’t under a nationwide lockdown. In the great words of Leon Black “I’m fucking lampin” at home with my cat, I get to “sit around with my boxers on and a tank top, with my feet the fuck up.”
My alarm goes off at 6am and I just didn’t get any sleep, so I turned it off and texted my boss “I don’t feel well, and I won’t be able to make it in today.” No further explanation and no made-up excuse, I just knew I was caught up on my work and I needed a day off to do nothing. That simple text gave me the freedom to sleep in with no alarm, watch afternoon baseball, and play Pokémon Arceus on my couch. This is different than having no responsibilities on the weekend, where I automatically get that time off and I feel the need to go do something with my free time. As the weather warms, the weekends are for day drinking on a patio or taking a hike. But a random Wednesday day off, when I know everyone else is working, just makes it that much better. So, I advise you all to take a workday off not to vacation, not to catch up on errands, but to sit inside and do whatever you did as a kid when you stayed home from school. Work will always be there, and your boss wished they did the same.
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