The Joy of Doing Nothing

In today's world we rarely get the guilt free pass to do nothing. There are bills to pay, lawns to mow, emails to respond to, weddings to attend...laundry, dishes, org charts, authorizations, presentations, (insert other daily responsibilities here). But occassionally we intersect with times and life occurences which provide us with the opportunity to just say...."Sorry, the Dr. said I can't do that." What can I not do after the surgery?

1. No lifting anything more than 10 lbs -- The good--I'm pretty sure the remote control is under 10lbs, The bad--Max weighs 11 lbs.
2. No driving -- The good--No grocery shopping, The bad--The whole "Shut-In" thing doesn't suit me.
3. No lifting my arms over my head -- The good --I can put off moving all of our junk from the basement to the attic a little bit longer, The bad--Button-up shirts severely limit your wardrobe options.
4. No sleeping on my stomach -- The good-- it's supposed to be healthier for you, The bad--Obvioulsy it didn't prevent this situation...how good can it be?
5. No exercise beyond very short walks -- The good--I'll finally meet the neighbors I've been avoiding. The bad -- I'll finally meet the neighbors I've been avoiding.
   
   There have been two other times in my life when I wasn't able to do anything...Both those times were following knee reconstructions. I must say, for someone who is driven to constantly be busy or productive it is initially difficult to let go. But in some ways it is liberating to know that I just won't physically be able to do anything. It takes away any guilt associated with thinking that I should be creating, producing or checking off 'to-dos'. So I plan on taking full advantage...

• I'll sleep more (provided the pain meds work)
• I won't wear a watch
• I'll read some bad fiction rather than the latest business garbage put out by authors who have never been in the business world.
• I'll linger in bed with Allison, Max and super dog, Maggie without saying, "I've got to go." Few things will top this.
• I'll enjoy watching the leaves fall without the nagging feeling that I should be raking
• I won't apologize for watching Red Dawn on SpikeTV
• October is sports nirvana

~Joe

10 days left