Musings: Back Again!

I am so tired of being sick this Spring.  It seems as though I have been dealing with unhealthy demons since about 20 February.  First my really bad upper respiratory deal that knocked me out for two to three weeks.  Then, after just one week of feeling good I was plagued by a bad cold/allergies (I never did decide which it was).  That dragged on for more than three weeks before I was hit by the gastric flu bug.  I am so ready to be done with all this and be truly healthy for the rest of this year!!

What really annoys the heck out of me is that sickness robs me not just of health on all levels, but also of time.  Oh I know I still live each minute that God gives me.  I don’t lose effective time.  What I lose is the time I would normally put in to all the various activities that make up the flesh of my life.

My garden lies in wait to be ministered to.  Outdoor projects for which I had a planned scheduled have to go on hold.  The weeds begin to sprout profusely in the flower beds, and just the pure unadulterated  pleasure of being out there working in the dirt has to be postponed while viral bugs have their with my body.

My writing is forced on to a back burner. No matter which part of my body is physically under attack, the Muse withdraws and hides.  My head seems full of fuzz and leaves no room for inspiration.  My arms and hands are sluggish, ravaged by fevers or infections or plain old weakness, and consequently they have no strength to fly over the keyboard in creativity.

My craft room sits in silence full of its colorful cardstock and inks, ribbons and stamps, glitter and glue and various findings.  But nothing there is able to penetrate the general sense of dis-ease that pervades my body, heart, mind and soul.  Not even a fast-finished product can elevate me from the murky depths that sickness produces within me.  The Muse avoids temptation!

And my wonderful husband patiently tends me, doing everything he can to alleviate the grayness that insidiously surrounds me.  And even there I feel robbed because I have no energy, nor am I in any kind of mood, to actively participate in our relationship.  And that is a loss in and of itself.

There is nothing I can do about this state of affairs.  Bugs and viruses for the most part have to be given their time.  I can only languish and try to be as positive as possible.  I practice patience and humility in accepting the situation for what it is.  But my inner child grows pouty, wants to go out and play, and longs for the company of Muse.

I have been very careful this week in my return to health.  No rushing out and doing everything it once.  This is difficult for me because I have a tendency to want to make up for lost time, to catch up.  But one thing I have learned: time once past can never be “caught up”. 

Today I have done a little in the garden: prepared and planted up three raised beds with spring onions, Web’s lettuce, and chard.  In another small flower bed I sewed seeds that I hope will bring a small wild profusion of blooms later in the summer.  I finished all that I had hoped to achieve before the rains came.

And now I sit in my lanai and listen to the thunder rolling in the distance.  One particular roll sounded rather like a Harley and for a moment I was amused as I pictured God in black leather Chaps and a ponytail rumbling across the skies on a sleek chrome machine!  And, joy oh joy, my Muse is back and here we go dancing across the keyboard in a game of catch-me-if-you-can.