I have been sitting a lot lately. When I say a lot, I mean a lot. It just so happens that I fractured my foot three weeks ago (ignored it for a week, on crutches now), and so, cannot walk around freely. Let’s not even mention the fact that I cannot dance, what with Carnaval around the corner, this has been quite a disappointment.

This has given me an interesting sense of the passage of time. On the first page of this article in the NY Times, one of the subjects tracks his concentration and output before he gave up coffee and after. The data conclusively proved that coffee was making him less focused. So, for me, I guess it’s full mobility that pulls my focus….

Herewith, a few benefits of being much more sedentary (give me this gift of allowing me to find the positive aspects in this).

1. It no longer takes me an hour and a half to read a one page article. I can do so in a half an hour now. Without the constant pull of “I could be in the other room doing…(fill in the blank with whatever other activity I could be doing)”.

2. Enjoy a quiet afternoon in the yard (to be fair, this was a gift of a neighbor’s yard). I managed to practice French for two and a half hours and relax.

3. Depend on others. This may sound small, but as a single working parent, I feel the pull to be as self-sufficient as possible. Who knew that little Ms Iz (11 years old, I guess not so little), would throw down and walk the dog?

4. Day-to-day tasks take a lot of work. Ever try to mop a floor whilst on crutches? Jerry Lewis and Lucille Ball are not more comical than me attempting this. (Thanks to big sis, N, for coming by and getting the floors in order, thus keeping me from more serious harm).

5. Movies and TV are fun, to an extent. After day 4 of sitting at home, the TV had to be turned off, there are only so many episodes of “The Millionaire Matchmaker” and “16 and Pregnant” one person can watch without going over the edge. Instead, the library is your friend, and ours even has an elevator.

6. Weightlifting in a chair is almost as good as dancing (this is a lie, but again, help me out). With weights, pulleys and balance exercises that can be done seated, I am now a little more sane than I was last week, when, going on week two of no exercise, I found myself dancing in my car at a red light. The dancing in the chair will continue, but at home. Oh, and also, all 63 pounds of Ms Iz creates a good counter balance for some wacky seated push ups.

And so, as my friend T put it “Your foot seems to be telling you to slow down”. Once I am up and running again (maybe another 3 to 4 weeks), I am going to try hard to keep the focus my one-footedness has given me.

Thank you to each and everyone of you that have been so helpful!

xoxox