I didn’t go to church this morning. I could have pushed it, but I’ve been coughing and sneezing, and every time I cough or sneeze, it makes my abdominal muscles hurt. My throat is raw from coughing. I think I’ll be better tomorrow, certainly able to go back to work, but I just don’t feel good today.

Sally, whom I know through Mountain T.O.P., had a wonderful post just a few days ago about how illness can be, in a strange way, a sort of sabbath. I have been working a lot of long hours, and it may be that my body was telling me I needed to take a break.

Of course, “sabbath” makes it sound like I’ve been sitting around today praying and reading the Bible. And I haven’t. I’ve been vegging out, with golf on the TV, playing solitaire on my Palm while I lay on the sofa. I didn’t even listen to my church’s worship service on the radio, which I could easily have done.

I really am sorry that I missed Marilyn Massengale’s program at men’s club breakfast this morning. I tried to call my father just now to ask how it was, and the parents weren’t home.