Small Things: Buckets

“This is not as bad as it looks,” I reassured my spouse, Laurence.

I was lying on the floor of the bathroom beside the toilet with a towel under my head.

No, I was not recovering after a night of drinking. Far from it. I was recovering from a day of moving the Small Things shop, a small fender bender, not sleeping well, and an opportunistic virus who decided that the balance receptacles in my inner ear were a fine place to take a February vacation.

Last column I said “Third time’s the charm” regarding moving – and that I will not move the shop again. Hauling boxes and furniture is not charming. Unpacking them even less so, though being flat out for three days with my headache and flu – it was my friend Kim who did most of the unpacking.

It’s a funny thing. I had said to my spouse in January – I was feeling very weary – that what I really wanted was to spend a few days in bed and just read and listen to CBC. Be careful what you ask for!

I had (18X3 =) 54 hours of it. Back-to-back commercial-free tragedy offset by the occasional feel-good story. I love the CBC, but I have a new appreciation for the maxim, “Everything in moderation.”

The move and accident happened on Sunday, the dizziness and vomiting set in with a vengeance on the Monday, Tuesday I couldn’t move, and Wednesday I finally agreed to go to Emerg.

I felt pretty silly. Here I was surrounded by the best trained workers and most expensive equipment on the planet – and what was the diagnosis and treatment? More flu than anything – rest and drink plenty of fluids. Ah well, I did and do have much to be thankful for.

My friend Dolly (not her real name) sent me a quote: "Forget what hurt you in the past, but don't forget what it taught you." So what did moving, a fender bender, stress and the flu teach me? It’s more like what I re-learned. Here are a few observations:

- One way or another, things eventually get done.
- Nothing is a better companion when you are sick, than a purring cat.
- Crisis is a good way to make new friends or deepen existing bonds.
- Husbands can scoop litter boxes.
- Look twice – back up once (with your car.)
- The CBC is a national treasure.
- When your head hurts, paper books are much kinder than screens to read.
- Being a mother is a life sentence – my bio mom and church mom both worried about and prayed for me. I am so loved.
- It’s good to have an extra five pounds on you for when you get sick.
- Small Things must be a fun hobby, not an all-consuming mission.

Right now, it’s my lunch break at work. I missed two days of work when I was sick and not only did I miss the pay check (employers have this funny idea that workers should show up in order to be paid), I missed the routine of walking to and from work with my hubby, the social stimulation of working with students, looking at the peaceful scene outside my window, and the restfulness that comes of dealing with one situation at a time.

Even so, I am looking forward to my away time in February break. My hubby and I are returning to our little “camp” at the Green Valley RV Resort in Arizona. My “bucket list” includes learning yoga and they offer yoga classes three times a week – mind you at 7 a.m. I also want to learn how to swim – and they have a small pool. Both yoga and stress are good for stress reduction.

Mind you, so is a bucketful of margaritas – but I cannot imagine intentionally inviting dizziness and nausea into my life (to say nothing of alcohol poisoning.) And I need to watch that I don’t unintentionally invite unnecessary stress and wily viruses into my being either.

Warns Dan Sullivan, “People who spend most of their time putting out fires are usually also the arsonists.”

Jan Carrie Steven is a volunteer with Cat Adoption Trust Sudbury (CATS) and the co-ordinator of Small Things: Cats & Books. For more information, go to www.smallthings.ca.