Recuperation, Recovery and... relaxation?!

If you've been following the latest on life in the Lyons Den, you know that I recently had surgery to have an umbilical hernia repaired.  Not fun, in case you were wondering!  The surgery itself was over in less than two hours although, due the fact that anesthesia and I have a historically rocky relationship, I found myself in misery -- oops, I mean recovery -- for almost five hours.  Even so, the outpatient procedure had me home well before dinner that day with firm instructions to rest for a week and avoid heavy lifting and anything other than moderate activity for six weeks.  

Following doctor's orders and literally doing nothing other than popping pills and responding to work email (arguably a bad combination!) was easy for the first few days.  Now though, five days post-event, it's getting a bit trickier.  I can actually shower and therefore, am looking and feeling better. I've weaned myself from the pain meds and can get by on just a few Advil every now and then.  I've read all my magazines and watched the last few episodes of Glee.  So... now what?  

Since I've actually "just said yes" to extra hands and a few home-cooked meals, the house has been relatively quiet... almost sadly empty.  I know I must have a major screw loose because rather than sit back, rest, recuperate and relax, well, I'm finding it hard to sit still.  I am compelled to put away the mountains of laundry, clean out the linen closet and reorganize my underwear drawer... I mean really, it is brimming over with tights that have holes in the toes, supersized undies from when I was supersized preggo and large lacey bras that never fit and never will... how is a girl to relax when all of these things are facing me down?!  

Well, I resisted as much as possible since the last thing I wanted to do is blow a stitch and find myself back in the hospital... the very thought was enough to keep me relatively still.  However, being rather industrious (to a fault, some might say!), I found the perfect task to fill my sedentary weekend:  2010, The Year in Pictures.  Yep, I must have sorted through a few thousand photos but it's done.  Our 2010 photo album is complete and I have to say, it was quite a year.  In reality, it was kind of crappy -- my brother in law lost his battle with lung cancer at only 47 years old; my job grew ever more challenging so I ultimately left it in pursuit of a new one; and, we faced the same struggles that all sleep-deprived parents of little people with big demands face.  However, when you look at the pictures, it was an incredible year.  Smiles all around. The hardships we faced didn't slow us down or take the smiles from our faces.  And the struggle I face now is minor compared to so many others.   So, as I face these next few weeks "on the bench", I'm going to do my best to just smile and count my blessings.  For there are many of them.  And here are a few of my favorites...