I went to school with a girl named Megan. She had lots of good qualities, but the most significant was her perfect attendance record: Not one year. Not two or three. Twelve years. From first grade to senior year, she didn’t miss a single day of school. I think her older sister did, too. I always admired her for that and didn’t know how she did it.

I’ve worked at Southwest for over 7 years now. During that time, I haven’t used a single sick day. I don’t even know how many I’ve earned, but it’s probably several weeks’ worth of sick time. My “streak” came to be a goal I pursued, a source of pride, a way to contribute to the company’s success. Unlike with a normal job, when I call in sick, the company has to pay someone to work my shift at either time and a half or doubletime, which equates to hundreds of dollars each time. Although I’ve been sick a few times, it’s always occurred during my days off.

Until now. After dragging myself to work the last two nights when I would have been justified in calling in, I finally gave up and used my first sick day for tonight. At my appointment this afternoon, Dr. Phillips diagnosed me with bronchitis. Yuck. So I’m chilling at home, trying not to talk or move too much, letting my new meds work, and resting while I watch the U.S. Open and Palin’s speech at the RNC. I’m already starting to feel better and plan to return to work tomorrow night.