OyChicago blog

So, the Polar Vortex got the best of me, though really – I got the best of me. After months of whining about the incessant winter chill, I slipped on my way home from work. It was the first time in my life I’d “fallen and couldn’t get up” and instantly I knew something was very wrong. The ER visit revealed a broken ankle. A broken ankle in need of surgery. How’s that for a Tuesday afternoon? Never a dull moment.

Here I am, two weeks post-op, and my world (for the time being) is reduced to my lovely house in the burbs and the occasional outings to the doctor. I cannot even begin to express how thankful I am to my family for all of their help and my fantastic employer for their patience while I figure out how to navigate (temporarily) on one foot. I also know how lucky I am that it was just my ankle and nothing else.

So while I will not be running any marathons anytime soon, trying to work normal hours, devouring the latest episodes of House of Cards, re-reading Bossypants for about the eighth time and healing a little more each day all combine to fill my days in a way I didn’t anticipate. I am anything but bored – and that’s a very, very good thing. While this broken ankle might have slowed me down, my mental shpilkes (nervousness, anxiety) are very much intact.

The day I plopped down on the ice, I had an interesting conversation with my manager earlier at work. We were dishing about Kundalini yoga – breathing and relaxation, all that good stuff. I’m very much a yoga novice, but the idea of the practice as an infinite process has proven to be resonant thought over these past couple of weeks.

She was saying that after four kids, she turned to yoga as a new way, initially, to get in shape and refocus. What she learned shortly was that regardless of what poses she could and couldn’t do, she was on a continuum. It doesn’t matter where you begin or where you end up eventually, all that matters that you are on the path.

So what are some takeaways from my couch-dwelling days? I tend to think of myself as a pretty patient person, but oh how my patience has been tested. It’s been tricky attempting to balance a go-go-go attitude some days with feeling completely exhausted others. But it’s all about being on the path, isn’t it? No matter how silly/frustrated/tired/annoyed I feel that I can’t get up and walk around, I know it is a temporary situation and I’m already making progress each day.

Enduring the pain, prodding, sitting and waiting is all building toward my big goal for this spring, which I hope to achieve near Passover time: walking on my own two feet, all on my own. It’s funny how five seconds of your life can give it an entirely new perspective. (Captain Obvious realization now over.)

In the meantime, I’m just going to rock my fluorescent pink cast and find new ways to make these next 4 to 6 weeks productive. Reading suggestions welcome in the comments below.