I’ve been off work for more than a month recovering from foot surgery. I have another 2 weeks to go before the doctor will release me.
In my mind, I had a vast list of things I was going to accomplish during this so-called “down” time.
I was going to:
- review & file EOB (Explanation of Benefits) statements from last year
- catch up on watching recent Academy Award nominated movies (2009, 2010 etc)
- shred credit card statements and receipts
- reorganize the top of my dresser (it’s a humble-jumble of jewelry, perfume, buttons and receipts)
- read at least half of the books stacked on my end table
- and much more that I barely remember
I didn’t do any of those things.
It’s not what I did .. it’s what I didn’t do.
I didn’t:
- Use an alarm clock… instead, I slept until I woke up. Letting my body reset itself has been most restorative
- Mind letting the answering machine pick up calls (couldn’t get there in time anyways)
- Watch any Academy Award winning movies. Instead, I snuggled up with old favorites like “Hitch” and “Notting Hill”
- Cook for weeks at a time (unheard of, especially for me)
- Try to be a hero; I took pain meds when I felt “the pinch”
- Read anything more challenging than “Readers Digest” or “People”
- Blow dry my hair; too tiring, too hard to stand, and too easy to pull my wet, clean hair back into a ponytail and let it air dry
- Forget to say “please” and “thank you”
- Call the office or respond to emails with any particular regularity
- Resist the urge to nap when necessary
- Refuse friends who offered to cook for us
- Miss an opportunity to greet our boy after school
- Fail to appreciate everyone who helped me
This morning, while listening to an April thunderstorm thrash our house with rain, I reflected on this time of recovery.
Some of it I don’t remember (Hello Vicodin!) and much of it I do. What did I learn?
The best laid plans of mice and men!
We think we’re in control. Our bodies have a way of making us take a time out.