IT'S BOOGIE TIME!!!

Sometimes one just needs to take time out, step away from the world, and recharge the batteries. I know – a warning would have been nice, but it wasn’t planned. It just happened. You would think that I’d have learned by now to pace myself; it would be the intelligent thing to do. I recognized the signs, but kept putting it off until my body and brain finally decided enough was enough, and both went into neutral. I had a huge ‘Out of Order’ sign flashing on my forehead.

Because of my procrastination, this happened just before my favourite time of the year. I can’t remember Christmas. I went through the motions, family and friends showed up, and all I could manage was to put one foot in front of the other. I was on automatic pilot. The whole day is vague, as is the week following, and New Years. When it came time to return to work, the cold/flu/gastro virus paid a visit, and kept me in seclusion for another 4 days. It was good timing. Emotionally I was not ready to jump back onto the treadmill.

Being semi-comatose has its advantages. I hardly raised an eyebrow when my hot water tank died, my telephones stopped working, the computer doc informed me that my hard disk is fried (no, I don’t have back-up of all those hours of writing, business files, pictures...), or during the four visits to the hospital since December 20th. They have found small tumours on my brother’s lungs (one of which is partially collapsed) and lymph nodes. I think the most enthusiasm I mustered during all this was when I told my brother that if he mentioned suicide again I would kill him myself. There was certainly none present as I informed the employees that we couldn’t take pays during the holidays; that, in fact, I would probably have to lay them off. The money has run out.

Last Saturday night I was awakened by a warm, sloppy tongue licking my nose. I opened my eyes to find Bud’s soft brown ones staring into mine, his whole body wiggling and his tail wagging madly. Grump looked up when I moved; he was lying behind me on the sofa, his head on my hip. I had fallen to sleep while watching the hockey game, the first one I had attempted to really see since before Christmas. It was the end of the third period, and I responded absently to the doggies’ insistent cuddling as I groggily watched my Canadiens tie the score, then beat Boston in overtime. My half-hearted yell of “Alright!!” had both Bud and Grump standing in front of me, eyes sparkling, ears cocked, anticipating the regular victory dance. I stared at them. There was no chagrin for having disturbed me in their gaze. Their expression was a “Hey, what are you waiting for? It’s boogie time!”

It was too funny not to laugh, and in that action, something clicked. They were right. Rest period was over. We needed to regroup.

I was giggling as I stood up and did an awkward, pyjama-clad version of a bump-‘n-grind, much to their delight. They were disappointed when it stopped there. I needed more sleep, and they reluctantly but obediently flopped down on the floor when I crawled into bed. Little did they realize that, due to their therapy, I was still smiling as I slid into the arms of Morpheus.

Sunday’s bright sun shining on my mountain only hastened the return of energy. Between listing plans of how to turn things around, I made a dent in the much neglected housework, there was cooking done, and I made peace with my temperamental laptop. I’m writing again.

If the year 2011 tries to play the same tricks as did 2010, I’m gonna kick its ass right into 2012!! There will be no more patiently waiting for things to get better, or people to get smarter. As any self-respecting doggie will tell you, it’s boogie time! And the first step of that dance is to SMILE! I am sending you all a HUGE, WARM one with my wishes for a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.