CONVALESCING & CANINE COZINESS

This convalescing thing is against my nature, I am going to have to learn to get used to it.
My dog, however, is 100% onboard. The guy is a professional at being cozy and lying low. He has taken permanent residency in the fuzzy, warm folds of the blankets that I am shielding from reality under.

The King of Cozy

The sun is spilling in on the chair that is set up as my recuperation nest and once I am sitting in it, my dog is too. I wonder if he thinks his job is to help people recover from major surgery? To let the sleep from his tiny body permeate and help heal mine. Perhaps I should start a business and rent him out as a tiny tonic for the infirm. Cash the Cozy-Time Chihuahua. He certainly is taking to the role with an admirable amount of dedication.

I am accepting that the tight, taught dull aches in my sternum are the reminder buzzing signals to my brain to make sure that the broken bones are given the gift of time that they need to heal. This whole ‘time and patience to heal’ thing is new for me. I lean more towards the mode of ‘fast, fix, heal, done, jump, run’ We have my pain meds down to a precise groove now and the more chronic pain reduces to heavy discomfort – which only rears to full gallop with excessive or sudden movements.

Unfortunately breathing, coughing and hiccups still fall under the ‘excessive movements’ category. Silly human lungs and their incessant need to for expansion and unfortunate physical geography. Contained, steady movement is pretty much how the hours are best spent.

One week later and I am reading books and learning the power of patience, faith and the Day Nap – especially because my mandated exercise of walking up and down our hallway feels like running a small marathon. A week ago I could eat the length of that hallway 100 times for breakfast, now it devours me.

This is after a 5 minute walk.

Internet radio has provided a 1960’s party station that mum has been dancing to all day between spells of her own reading and writing. I am so grateful that she is here to help me for these next few weeks, the company, nursing knowledge and Mum-ness are a real gift. Plus the day would be infinitely more boring without someone doing the occasional swing step or bop dance move randomly through the room.

She really can’t help herself once music plays…