Down and not out

So I’ve spent a good part of my recent weeks in bed. Which meant that half the time I never even got to taking my photo for the day, and the other half of the time was spent trying to decide which would make a more interesting photo – the remote control sitting on the bed, or my assorted bottle of meds on the nightstand.

And the other half was spent trying to remember how to do math in my head.

Being down and not even able to head outdoors for a change of scenery, I needed to be distracted from the inevitable numbing boredom of laying in bed all day. Without cable. Or a laptop. Try it sometime and let me know which one drives you crazier: the back pain or the head exploding from the imposed inactivity.

While I did a lot of reading and Sudoku-ing and playing backgammon against my iPod, the distractions I was most grateful for came from my family, my pal Shrew and the get-well wishes of the Shrew Crew (KD, Karma, MM/DD, Brc, Jenfera, Renae, and Daily), and the many wonderful, caring and concerned friends in my congregation. They not only cheered me up with emails, phone calls, cards, full meals delivered to my doorstep, and the occasional visit when I was able to receive them, they also regularly offered help with everyday tasks around the house, like cleaning and laundry. Shrew, despite being ill at that time, even offered to get me some chicken soup. (Fortunately, I have a capable and handy husband around the house, so things were pretty much under control.)

As for my camera, it was particularly grateful for the bouquets of hope-you-feel-better-soon flowers sitting around the house. Because it meant that, even though I couldn’t take it outside to take pictures of all the springtime lushness overtaking my garden, I still had something prettier indoors to focus on. Prettier, that is, than my remote control or my bottle of Vitamin B6.

See? Isn’t that prettier than a gray box with rubber buttons?

I knew you’d agree.