For two days now, I’ve been down for the count. I received my COVID booster, and boy, let me to you what…it was brutal. The first round kicked my ass, too, so I sure as hell hope this whole vaccination thing turns out to be worth it. I was going to take a little hike today but just walking from the bedroom to the kitchen was enough to wear me out, so I think I’ll just stay put today. It’s the perfect excuse to listen to a bit of RIOPY and work on my masterpiece. (Um, this. This is my masterpiece.)

I do love me some fever-induced dreams, though. I imagine those dreams are similar to the ones you have when you do some pretty good psychedelics. My favorite? Well, Ryan Bingham (a.k.a “Walker” in Yellowstone) asked me if I wanted to ride his horse. Um…yes, please. {Ahem}.

As with all things, I can take a perfectly timed ass-kicking vaccination and find a way to turn it into a blog post. So, here we go, kids. Grab a drink and settle in. I’m about to tell you all the ways feeling cruddy can be a good thing.

1) Forced rest. Really? Do I even need to say this? Well, apparently, I do. I don’t know about you, but I’m not good at resting. When my son is at his father’s, I typically will cram a thousand activities into the weekend. I didn’t – really, couldn’t – this weekend because, well you know, the whole body-aches thing. So, I went to the recycling center to get rid of a month’s worth of evidence, stopped by a friend’s for a short while, and came back home – where my ass has been planted ever since. We all should rest more often, not just when we are unwell. There are so many benefits of rest. If you need more convincing than my epic post here, then take a look at this article.

2) Time to catch up with friends. I had a quick breakfast with one of my besties, had a two-hour phone call with a friend I hadn’t spoken to for over ten years and was delighted by another phone call that ended with a finalized plan for a ‘meet in the middle’ road trip/girls weekend. I didn’t realize how healing it can be to take time to catch up with people you rarely talk to – even though I put the importance of it here on my bucket list.

3) Less alcohol. You may not agree, but the last thing I want is booze when I’m not feeling well. I also haven’t had coffee since Thursday’s COVID shot – proving that, yes, I can survive without it – and you can, too. Less alcohol and caffeine make for better sleep, and less anxiety, so ill or not, cutting both out of your consumption habits on occasion gives your central nervous system a break.

4) Quiet time. I’m rarely alone in this house, and for two hours, I was ALL BY MYSELF. We all need some quiet time to recuperate from the world. Of course, there’s always a balance – no need to get reclusive. But I really appreciated the time to sit and meditate and do a bit of restorative yoga without my brain on alert that someone might barge in. This leads me to…

5) Restorative yoga. This isn’t the ‘be a pretzel’ kind of yoga; that’s why it’s called ‘restorative’. My body hurt all over from the ping-pong ball effects of having the chills and fever – often at the same time. I mean, even my tongue hurt from clenching my jaw due to the shivering. The quiet and calming restorative poses helped tremendously, and if you want to try it, here’s a 35-minute video you can do at home. It’s free and – bonus – uses no props. You’re welcome.

So, nothing particularly mind-blowing today, but I am going to leave you with this song. However, before you click that link, I want to warn you: This is a twenty-two-minute instrumental. So, if you were counting on a fast-paced Elle King or Tyler Childers song, it ain’t that. However…it’s the perfect background for washing the dishes, sitting quietly and focusing on your breath, folding the laundry, or just drinking a cup of warm tea. In other words, rest a bit. In fact, that laundry can wait. Just chill.

PS…if you liked this post, please consider sharing it on social media. Thank you, in advance, for helping a semi-witty and foul-mouthed writer the opportunity to share her experiences with others of like mind.