Learn How to Take it Easy

                                                (student drawings for our current fundraiser)

I bet you’re wondering why I haven’t written in awhile!  For the past week, I’ve been at home, on the couch, with major back pain.  All it took was me getting into the car.  When I sat in my car, I suddenly felt a pinched nerve in my lower back, and it grew worse later in the day.  I made it to work on Monday…barely (it was a half day), and when I came in Tuesday, I couldn’t take the pain anymore and I started crying five minutes before my first class.  I didn’t realize I was starting so soon, and when my principal saw how I was in pain, she sternly sent me home.  I was out of work for four days, going to the chiropractor, heat and ice, and it’s still hurting.

I went into work in pain because all I could think about was my lessons, meetings, and fundraiser.  I thought of the deadlines, and the student's projects, and the kiln.  I wasn't thinking that I could cause more damage to myself.

The moral of my story is…don’t push it.  As much as we want to give 100% to our jobs and prove how important we are in the core curriculum, we still need to know when to sit down before we hurt ourselves.  If you don’t, you’ll end up out of work longer than you wish.

Your overall health is more important than anything else, and if you’re not 100%, you’re not going to be able to perform your lessons as well as you can.  And pushing a cart?  You need to be in good shape.  If you throw your back out, forget it! 

So if you’re catching a cold, fighting the flu, or hurting your back, take the time that you need to heal.  In the long run, it’s better to miss a day or two than to be in the hospital with long term damage.