Obsessing on the Little Things

Since I was hospitalized -- actually before that -- and have been in continuing recovery, I've noticed how much I've tended to write and think about and act (when I can) on what most people would consider "the little things." 

Being able to walk, for example, or bend over if only a little bit. Being able to bathe and dress myself, make a sandwich if I'm hungry, go to the bathroom and not have to pee into a bottle. These are tiny victories, but they loom enormous for me given my once pathetic inability to even sit up on my own.

The ordeal with the washing machine(s) has tested my ability to do all sorts of things, figure out a wide range of movement, make repairs, deal with customer service (ha ha) and so on, even managing to move around a lot of stuff in the kitchen.

Having heat in the house and a washing machine that doesn't flood the room makes a big difference in living more or less well, doesn't it?

Oh there's more. I've been putting up reed and bamboo screening fencing in the back so that (maybe) our neighbor's dog (Shepherd) won't see Ms. Ché when she goes for her constitutional walk which she feels obligated to do because of her diabetes. A circuit around our property amounts to a quarter mile, so four times around is a mile, and she likes to do five circuits. If Shepherd is out though, he'll come running to the fence, barking and jumping lustily, and scaring the wits out of Ms., even though she knows he can't really get to her, and according to Mike, Shepherd's owner, he wouldn't hurt her. He just gets excited to see her!

I'm very slow putting up the screening. I'd hoped to do one roll length a day, but that went out the window when the wind came up a couple of days ago and we had to stay indoors or get blown to pieces. Even if I was well, I couldn't do the install outdoors in high wind. But it's partially up and seems to be holding. Seems to be working with Shepherd, too.

There's a lot of clean up to do around our place which I'm plotting out day by day, slowly, slowly, as the weather gets better. I hope to get some things going in the greenhouse, but I don't know. Maybe. Ordinarily, I'd be starting now, but not this year. Too many other things...

I'm just amazed and kind of delighted that I can do much of anything. I wish I could do more, much more, but the little things I can do are surprisingly satisfying, and so much of it is so simple, like an infant learning to walk or a child figuring out how to accomplish tasks. 

I even managed to replace a non-functioning clock hands, quartz mechanism, pendulum and electronic chime with a new outfit I ordered online and it's really a thrill that it works. Keeps relatively accurate time! And doesn't chime between 10:00pm and 6:00am! The chime, too, is modest and not overwhelming like the three mechanical clocks we have that chime so loudly they practically blow you out of your seat. Yay!

Yes, these are all "little things", but damn, being able to do them at all is amazing for me. And how little we notice and appreciate our abilities when we have them.