LIFE ON PAUSE

"Have a nice sleep!" 
That was the last thing I remember. The round blue eyes of Dr. Davies peering down at me as I followed commands and took nice deep breaths of the oxygen. 
I had surgery this week. As a matter of fact not only myself but my father and my father-in-law all had surgery this week. 
You know what the say..... the family that goes under the knife together........I got nothing...
We all came through with accolades.
I had a lump removed off my left leg and a mass removed from my right breast. And I reiterated numerous times - left leg, right boob, do NOT mix them up. Dr. Davies did some penmanship around the offending areas to avoid any confusion, which I deeply appreciated! 
Here is a photo of the leg work - if you are squeamish and don't like legs that aren't really well shaved - pass by quickly.

One of the worst parts of surgery for me is that blasted IV. I have small and jumpy veins - they do not like to stay still. So when Marko (a burly guy with lots of tattoos who actually works on the Base with Search and Rescue but spends his spare time doing IVs in the hospital - go figure) showed up I gave him my speech.
"You gotta take your time and woe them out." And he really did try and was very patient but to no avail. Eventually another nurse gave me a go and after about 10 minutes she determined it looked like the IV was in and working. After that I was wheeled into OR and off I went for my "nice sleep."
But now my life is on pause.
Because after surgery you have to "take it easy" and "rest". 
I came home, sat in bed and watched "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and as usual cried like a baby at the end when they were trying to find "Cat" in the rain. Gets me every time. Later that night I watched the new Superman. 
At the point I had had enough TV. 
But my life is still on pause.
No exercise, no lifting anything more than 10 lbs, no gardening, no nothing. I can't even play Morrie.
Let me tell you, I've been pretty bored. 
Today was Day 4 after surgery and I confess I did get on my bike and ride to the market. It was OK except for any major bumps in the road. 
I also went to a Celebration of Life for Nick, one of the fellas I had met at the drop-in centre downtown. Nick was the first guy I interviewed for my next book, "The Salty Side of Grace". He was a gentle giant who had lived a hard life and at 44 his life paused permanently. 
So the moral is, even though I'm restless and my life is on pause, I still have life and I trust a fair bit more to live. 
Soon I will be back to my normal routine of work, work at home, sleep etc. 
My life is on pause at the moment. I'm trying to be a good girl and abide in it. But like me veins, I'm small and jumpy!