Convalescing

Having caught a Catarrh from The Little Boy, I spent the entire weekend at home, sleeping and reading and playing (gently) with said Little Boy. W attended to a couple of social calls, but I was unable to get up and out. It gets this time of year, and I tend to be overly vulnerable to Agues, Rheums, and various other Afflictions.

Here's the thing about weekends like this: I am so much better afterward, and not just physically. The work I'm involved in is pleasurable in just about every aspect (grading papers notwithstanding), but it wears me out. Furthermore, each week offers two or three other activities that I feel the need to attend or participate in. Part of it is a sense of responsibility, but part of it is also my desire to be a full member of this community. Going to concerts, plays, lectures, sporting events, and church functions is important because it shows that I care about the people and the institutions around me.

But it drains me severely, and at times I find myself wishing for nothing more than to be left alone "in foul weather at my book to sit," as Wyatt says. My soul needs that time, but accommodating that need without feeling like I'm shirking my responsibilities--that's tough.

Anyway, the Affliction this weekend was actually a good thing--it gave me the time I neeeded.