Light activity?

My hospital discharge instructions said, "Light activity: rest at home, sleep, watch TV, read." No joke. And the nurse made a special point of highlighting this particular instruction. She said it's her favorite one.

Honestly, I find it hard to believe that "sleep, watch TV, read" qualify under "light activity." In my book they seem more like "no activity." Wouldn't "light activity" be better defined as 1/4 - 1/3 of your usual work load? As in make one meal a day (instead of 2 or 3), clean up after only 1 child (instead of 6 + husband), wash a few of the dishes in the sink (instead of all of them), and drive one errand (instead of spending the whole evening in the van). But, I was willing to give it a try, by the book. Armed with a stack of 9 books, and my computer, I crawled into my bed, plumped up my pillows, turned on the heating pad for my aching back, and gave "light activity" my best shot. I didn't like it very much. It's not all it's cracked up to be.

It has taken me a week, but I have finally found at least one advantage to light activity restrictions. And that has been to read various blogs. I've learned all kinds of useless information about people from all around the globe. Yup, there are a lot of blogs out there written in languages I can't even identify. Some in English that don't make much sense, either.

I did, however, find one blog that I will be returning to and that is http://sherrieeldridge.blogspot.com. As an adoptive mother, I've recently been on an adoption reading binge. I recently devoured A Man and His Mother: An Adopted Son's Search (Green), Building the Bonds of Attachment: Awakening Love in Deeply Troubled Children (Hughes), Parenting the Hurt Child: Helping Adoptive Families Heal and Grow (Keck), Choosing to SEE (Chapman), and Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptvie Parents Knew (Eldridge). Sherrie Eldridge, the author of the last book, is also the blogger I mentioned. She herself is an adoptee and has a wealth of resources for adoptive parents and their children. As we pursue the adoption of another child, this time an older child, I know that I will be needing more help than ever before. Thank you, Sherrie, for the time you are taking to be a resource for adoptive families. And for giving me a reason to stay in bed.

Is it time to move on to moderate activity yet? I vote yes.