by: Joelle Charbonneau

I’m sick. Or perhaps I should say, I’m as sick as I am allowed to be. There’s still work to be done, lessons to teach, writing to do, etc… The tot is also coming down with a cold and if things play out as usual, the husband will be showing signs of illness soon. Which means as much as I’d prefer to stay in bed with a good book and a cup of tea, I’ll instead be tending to my family while pretending I don’t feel like a truck ran over me.

Which got me to thinking. In the books I read, none of the protagonists get sick. I mean, not really. They might have broken bones, or are in wheelchairs or they might even have a cold – but they aren’t allowed to be sick.

You know what I mean. I’m certain it happens at your house. You have a 101 degree fever, but there is dinner to make or a meeting you can’t possibly miss at work. So you pretend you aren’t as sick as you feel. You load up on orange juice and whatever antihistamines you have in your cabinets and off you go to live your life as though nothing is bothering you.

Protagonists in books are the same way. No matter how bad they feel, they aren’t allowed to be sick. They might sniffle a bit and tuck some Kleenex in their purses, but that doesn’t stop them from tracking down clues, being a support system to their friends and solving murders. Cause let’s face it, no one wants to read about a person who is sitting in bed waiting for their illness to pass them by. The illness makes them sympathetic, but it is everything else they do that makes the character and the story interesting.

So, while this week progresses, I’m going to pretend I’m the protagonist of my own personal drama. When I’m getting annoyed that no one is letting me be sick, I’m going to remind myself that really they are just encouraging me to be interesting. Please feel free to play the game with me. Tell me what you wish you’d be allowed to slack off on this week and how you plan on being very interesting instead.