It’s funny, the way one’s concept of entitlements changes when one becomes one’s own boss.

When I worked for large companies, I strove to take as few sick days as possible, and never for frivolous purposes. If, however, I awoke one morning and was legitimately sick, I did not hesitate to make proper use of my paid sick leave. I never felt guilty about it; taking a day to recover so that I could return to work as soon as possible made sense.

Now that I am self-employed, however, I detest taking sick days. I think of them as “lost time,” “wasted days” that interfere with my ability to meet my deadlines. Sometimes I try to push through my discomfort and write anyway. Every now and then it works.

Today was not one of those days. I awoke sick to my stomach, my head throbbing with pain. All day I’ve been taking pain relievers and antacids, trying to calm my gut and clear my thoughts enough to work. No dice.

Midnight approaches. I’ll have to accept today as a lost day. And I hate that.