Notes from the Underground: How I went from kickass to keeled over

Two weeks ago, I was very busy. I was starting my second year of graduate school. I had a lot of classes to attend, lots of homework to do. I was also running a few miles a day. As you may have read a few posts ago, I've been having a lot of fun with running, so I decided to keep up with it, even after the semester got underway.

I also started a new job, which I was very excited about, teaching fifth grade Hebrew school on Sundays. The fifth graders are focusing on the book of Exodus this year, and even though this is my first time teaching, my nerdy obsession for things like Moses and the burning bush totally started to outweigh the butterflies in my stomach.


But suddenly, last Monday, something very funny started happening with those butterflies in my stomach. They morphed into a fever and a lump in my throat and a lot of other strange things. Before I knew it, several days had flown by, while I had been lying in the infirmary trying my darndest to take in some fluids.

At this point, I'm back home on bed rest, trying to cut back my semesterly plans to the bare minimum, in the hope that I can both stay in school and recover at the same time. It feels like I've just come back from a time warp.

Two weeks ago, I was thinking of taking a fifth course. Now I'm wondering if I can just get credit for being able to stand up long enough to brush my teeth. It's funny how your perspective can change in the blink of an eye.

Anyways, I hope that none of you will ever need this list, but in case you were wondering, there are actually plenty of things you can do on bed rest. Here are some of my favorites:

1. read
2. write
3. listen to music
4. make mixed CDs
5. smile
6. cry
7. dance from the shoulders up
8. head bob (see above)
9. shop online
10. window shop online
11. write emails
12. respond to emails
13. make lists
14. cut out inspirational quotes and images and tape them to the walls surrounding your bed
15. make a pillow fort
16. take a nap
17. wake up
18. watch netflix
19. develop your online presence, in direct proportion with your increasingly limited physical presence in the surrounding neighborhood
20. look out the window with deep longing
21. look out the window without any shred of longing when it appears to be very cold and rainy outside
22. eat ice cream.  with or without guilt.  your choice.

The photo above is me in the summer, working on a very healthy portion of eggplant sub in Boston's North End. I hope to be engaging in similar pursuits sometime in the near future.