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When I woke up this morning my body was not very happy. A headache, sore throat and a bit of a temperature. Of course by boss was not impressed when I called in sick today. But the idea of standing in front of students and talking all day just made me curl up in bed, my throat throbbing and a cough tickling my tonsils.

So I decided the better idea was to stay put for the day and battle teaching again tomorrow. Once I had given myself permission to submit to being unwell, funnily enough I felt much better.  Staying in my PJs and cuddling a hot-water bottle I have spent the morning reading, sleeping and sipping hot tea.

Now with my head-ache dissipating and the day turning into evening I feel much better and have started preparing my classes for tomorrow. But while I was typing I started thing about how people use to “convalesce” at home or away when they felt unwell.

In Jane Austen’s books and in Downton Abbey times it seems as if the women and men of a certain era thought it completely normal to take time out from everyday live and relax. to just give in to those little niggling pains and colds for a bit and de-stress. So while I can’t jump on a boat and travel to Bath or the Swiss Alps, a day in my Pjs feels like a good substitute.

As my hot-water bottle needs a refill, as does my cup of hot lemon and honey, I’ll pull up my wooly socks and stagger into the kitchen. And I believe I even have some soup in the fridge, the universal cure for the common cold.