I admit it. When I’m not working and am at home, I’ve been doing a lot of slacking off. It hasn’t been because I’ve wanted to, necessarily, although I do believe the “break” has helped my mental state a bit.
But let me explain.
Last month, I was sent to the emergency room at the hospital with a wicked back issue. I’d never felt pain like that in my life. I’d pulled it several times before (after having children, mind you), but nothing like that—ever. So, you see my dear readers, I’ve been in a bit of “recovery mode” after being diagnosed with a herniated disc and because said disc has been refusing to mend itself on its own. I’m in the throes of figuring this thing out.
This incident has led to a lot of sitting, grimacing, wincing, and basically hobbling around like, oh, I don’t know, Igor in Young Frankenstein. This period of time has allowed me to do other things that I don’t typically do because I’m often engaged in writing a novel on the side, but my brain hasn’t been functioning like it normally does through this experience, and so I haven’t done much, but I have done the following:
1-Eaten a lot (which isn’t exactly helpful without exercise)
2-Watched the entirety of Game of Thrones, from Season 1 to present
3-Read some books (most recently, Christina Baker Kline’s The Way Life Should Be)
4-Worked on my social media and connecting with other writers/authors/bloggers
5-Designed the cover of my new novel without actually having it finished
6-Missed some cool social activities like Orioles Opening Day and nights out with friends
7-Helped the makers of Icy Hot increase their revenue
8-Learned how to shave my legs without actually bending over (sorry, no photos of that)
9-Hobbled around just enough that my husband has learned to make dinner sometimes (win-win)
10-Was injured enough to not be able to clean the house and instead have a “temporary” cleaning crew take care of the cleaning (score!)
So you can see, I’m not my normal “get everything done” self. The gardens have weeds. The porch needs a wicked clean. My spring clothes are still in bins. My novel should be ready to edit this summer, but isn’t. Instead, the frigging thing still needs a lot of love and attention. I’ve also only blogged like, oh, I don’t know, once a week, instead of my usual two-three times a week.
But don’t worry. Things are looking up. I can now bend my legs enough to not contort myself to shave them in the shower.
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Stephanie Verni is the author of Beneath the Mimosa Tree, Baseball Girl, Inn Significant, The Postcard and Other Short Stories & Poetry, and an academic textbook Event Planning: Communicating Theory & Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt, that she co-authored with colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus & Chip Rouse.
