Stealing Time

Is there anything so delicious as time to do nothing? I don't think so -- at least not if it's only for a short time. I'm not great at doing nothing, and as my hip has been healing this week, I thought I was doing nothing, but it turned out I wasn't doing it well. At first I was too edgy (first because of the pain, then because of the steroids) to involve myself with anything other than watching television. I don't really like television, so by Tuesday I was pretty sure I would die of boredom. Happily, that wasn't the case. Yesterday I managed to work in a quick library trip, and after running a few errands earlier in the day -- I had been making meals out of air, almost, and had to stock up at the grocery store -- I lay on my sofa with a novel by one of my favorite authors and read. I paused only long enough to acknowledge how pleasant it was, the cool air pouring in my back door, my book pushing away any other responsibilities -- along with the pain. It actually feels much better now; tomorrow will be time to get back to business. It's hard (for me at least) to think when I can't sit. My doctor said that if I felt better by the end of the week I could get back to regular activity, with the admonition to take it easy. My trip is less than three weeks away, but it I can find just the right balance in working out, I may be able to get in better shape before I go. It was serendipitous that I had a light schedule this week; next week, and really until I travel, my schedule is jammed. But when I'm on vacation, I can steal all the time I want.