In a variation on the theme, today is a momentous day for me.

Today I called in sick to work. Except that I'm not sick.

Never in my entire life have I ever called in sick to work when I wasn't actually sick. There have been days where, if I were more of a trooper, I could have gone in, but didn't because I didn't feel well. But never have I ever called in when I felt nothing worse than tired.

Now, don't get me wrong. Hardly a week went by in college where I didn't skip a class simply because I was too engrossed in Oprah. But when someone is paying me to be somwhere, I've always been there, always, before today.

So now here we are. It's 10:41 a.m. and I'm lying in bed, still in my nightgown. The cat is on the pillow, curled around my Franklin planner as if to say, "Don't worry, I'll take care of your business, just leave everything to me. You go have fun."

I know that my days of doing this are limited. For the actual attorneys in my office, rare would be the day when you can just not come in, because stuff is happening and you have the files. But I have nothing going on right now, so I decided to seize the opportunity.

I did, in fact, wake up with a headache, which is a horrible way to wake up, but it wasn't nearly as earthshattering as I made it sound when I called in sick.

A while ago I wandered into the kitchen, made myself two microwave Belgian waffles and some bacon. I was still hungry so I made some more bacon and put it between two slices of toast with a little light Miracle Whip. (Like a BLT without the L and the T.)

What can I say, I skipped dinner last night. Now I'm back in bed, reading journals and generally slacking. I wish I could be like Ferris Bueller and go make something out of my day, but I'm just not that industrious. Besides, I feel too guilty.

Maybe by noon I will get over my guilt and enjoy the rest of my day off.

Okay. It's Monday evening, almost midnight, and guess what?

I got busted.

It's just like being in high school and getting caught playing hooky because your mom decided to go to the same mall you went to.

When I wasn't online today, I left the phone off the hook, because the phone gives me an unusual amoung of anxiety lately (largely because there are several institutions to whom I owe money).

Thirty seconds after I put it back on the hook, at around 4:00 this afternoon, the machine clicks on.

It's my father, who just happened to be passing through town and drove by my house and saw my car outside, except that he called earlier and it was busy and now that it isn't, he's wondering where I am.

Then, I was supposed to meet with Susannah tonight because I'm designing her wedding ceremony program, and when she couldn't get through to me this afternoon, she called my parents' house.

So now my parents are all confused about why my phone was off the hook while my car was outside my apartment all afternoon.

I can't believe I can't take a simple day off and not get everyone all in a tizzy about it. I suppose it's my own fault that I left the phone off the hook, but my father still saw my car outside, so I would have been busted anyway.