Things to Recommend doing when You are Home from the Hospital

Admiring your new handknit socks, an entirely unexpected gift from Joan. So much on her plate, and she has time to help take care of me.

Reading The Enchanted Castle by E.Nesbit. Magic, dry British humor, almost-orphaned children, things that happen for no reason but make the world straighten up a bit. Harry Potter way before Harry Potter.

Watching Idlewild. In my next lifetime, I'm gonna be a dancer.

Taking walks around the block in the 60-degree weather, hearing the birds, seeing the ice melt. And walking faster than the dog. I was sure that she, as poky as could be, would be walking faster than me.

Eating a tuna fish sandwich with avocado on toasted wheat bread. The first meal since my operation that really tasted good. How odd. Sweet things still taste way too sweet; chocolate just does not work. There's something about the anaesthetic that plays with your perception of sweetness, throwing it way out of whack.

Talking to old friends on the phone. For hours. Laughing enough that you have to ask the caller to stop making you laugh, because your stomach, which is still fairly tender, hurts. But in a good way.

Finding that magic balance of medicine and no-medicine. I'm a lightweight, a cheap date. It doesn't take much of anything for me to feel it. (In college, a few sips of beer. I'd look at my friends and say, okay, I'm there, and they would laugh at me.) You have to keep reminding the doctors and nurses about your weeny response to medicine when they start to prescribe.

Sitting on the couch, looking out at the blue sky, the trees, the birds moving about. Just sitting. Not reading. Not listening to my Ipod. Not watching television. Just sitting.