I had to stay home today.  The problem was I had some non-specific sickness symptoms like plegm and exhaustion.  Also, my patience was zapped, and I quickly remembered something about teaching middle school: it's way harder than teaching high school, especially when you're feeling sub-par.

For some reason, I agonized about taking the day off.  My school is small and we don't have a lot of subs.  My biggest fear was that the other teachers would have to cover my classes on their prep periods during the week before winter break. 

Luckily, that didn't happen.  Instead, I got a teacher who retired from our school a few years ago.  And, I stayed home and spent the entire morning asleep in bed.  Now I'm awake and ensconced on the couch.  I still haven't showered.  I thought about it, but I was too tired.