The Fluctuations of Time -- The Couch Solution

Now that I have been indoors for seven days, I have relearned what it is like for time to go slowly.  This hasn't been a reality for me since I worked as a temp 30 years ago.  Those days crept by. And of course in school time can practically stop. Oh, yes, and when I was responsible for all my children for a whole afternoon or something, especially on snow days. Time crawled.

But in my normal life, time goes so fast I can barely keep up. Part of this is I have so many locations to get to/be in and I have so many people to keep track of/care about that there are not enough minutes. We have caromed to the other extreme, with my world down to the inside of the house. So many people have this life, and it is eye-opening to be living it.

The solution, of course, is to keep the visitors' couch open and ready.  In the last few days, there has been a slow parade of guests who come and take their places on the couch. If they come alone, they get to have the whole couch to themselves and lie down.  This entertains me greatly.  Yesterday Stuart W. came from the temple to say hello, bring treats and talk about temple business.  He got right on his couch and put his feet up.  He has the best laugh in the world and it was so nice to see him. Some friends from BBH came next and then Lani.  Each visit has its joys. Some people come for just a few minutes (to brush my hair, for example) and some come for an hour.  The best is when I get a little time in between to close my eyes, but I have the stamina for a series of good conversations.  Every evening I get a debrief from Carrie who has started to bring Zoey and Olivia.  Carrie is good at making me feel relevant.

So if you have the time to come and say hello, let me know when to clear the couch for you.  Texting is best, or email, and I will pencil you in. I welcome unexpected visitors but those have to be short, since the other people have couch reservations.

On the medical front, I am healing but not healed. Not by a long shot. We have started to try to widen the times between Tramadol doses because pretty soon I will be out of those, and I think that may be the medicine that is doing the most pain management.  Last night when it was getting close to my next dose I had what felt like a relapse to five days ago, with that hole in my side making it really hard to do anything but moan and groan. Lying down is best for this, and I have to be patient.  Walking around is important, and I do that, but lying down really feels the most comfortable.  Sigh.

Benjamin came home last night. There are lots of good things about this, and one of them is that he brings many different topics to discuss. He told me this morning about a cultural tradition in Israel -- that everyone expects to participate in dance performances at the ends of school years or at weddings or whatever. So they have to learn dances (think Macarena) and practice and get ready. This is so endearing. I wish we had this expectation in this country.  I think that a related cultural activity could be singing -- if everyone in this country thought that singing together was a part of living here, just imagine how cool that could be.  I really want that.

Feeling good and so taken care of.  Everyone should take a couch vacation. It could be scheduled into our societal fabric, and nobody would have to get sick to do it. 

I am full of ideas of how to run the world better.  We all are.  Just have to convince everyone else of our wisdom.

(Benjamin is on the floor with hammer and punch, creating a leather handle to protect our hands from  burning when we pick up a hot cast iron pan.  There is NO end to the possibilities.)