Reflections From The Couch

Honestly, being sick completely sucks, no matter if it is the cold, the flu, or something more serious. It is just awful to lay on the couch, completely devoid of energy, watching the seconds tick by on the clock. At least we live in an age where we can drown out the tick tock of the clock by turning on a TV or watching videos on a tablet. Either way, it feels like time slows down. An hour seems to stretch on forever. It feels like someone has adjusted the metronome settings of time.

In that state of half listening and half watching the selected program or video, you might get lucky and doze off to sleep, waking only to grab more water, blow your nose, or hack up a lung. It seems to be the only reprieve from the clock.

Sometimes, it feels like the TV and/or the tablet is too greedy for my attention. Then, it is a book. One with actual pages to flip; one that needs an actual physical bookmark. Best time to finish off the overdue library books or to dig out that one novel that has been languishing on the shelf unread for far too long. So, this past week, as I curled up on the couch with my ultra snuggly doggy, that is pretty much what I did.

And really, my dog was the only living creature that I wanted to have anywhere near me. Some people, when they are sick or hurt, want extra attention and crave the comfort of others. And there are some who prefer to crawl into a hole and want to be left alone. I am the latter. I do not want to see, hear, or speak with anyone when I feel miserable. I hiss and snarl at any two legged creature within earshot until such time that I feel some semblance of normalcy.

I watched a lot of TV and got to see some interesting videos. I napped lots with the dog on the couch. I finished off my library books. Unfortunately, the library books were finished far too quickly. I found myself stuck. To go without reading material, for me, at any time is just unthinkable. It is an even bigger crime when I am sick. Books are less exhausting for me than TV shows or videos when my body is already fatigued with fighting the attack of the germs.

Going out of the house was out of the question. The two quick trips to the store for grocery items and cold medicine were too exhausting. I considered the eReader, but I find that they tend to strain my eyes. It is even more taxing than the TV. Down to the office in the basement to see if there were any unread books, or one that might be okay for a re-read.

I was lucky. I did find one that was unread. In fact, it was one that I had bought close to 9 years ago. The bookmark was still in it from the first time I had attempted to read it. I just never finished it and it went back on the bookshelf. But yet, I was never that keen to devote time and energy to finish reading it.

I picked up the book and looked at it in dismay. It just always gave me this inexplicable feeling of dread, which is really odd. I remembered that original attempt to read it just didn’t leave me with a good feeling. I don’t know what it was that I really felt so strongly against it. But yet, not strongly enough for me to purge it. What was this book? It was “Late Nights on Air” by Elizabeth Hay.

I gritted my teeth and opened it up. There wasn’t much point in starting at the place where the bookmark lay. It had been too long. It was a start-again-at-the-beginning kinda deal and just seeing how long I would last. Would I read the whole thing this time or would I end up putting it away in complete disgust?

This time, I read the whole book. I even enjoyed it surprisingly. (For anyone in Fort McMurray, the Coles Bookstore at the mall has two copies. I saw them on a quick pitstop on Sunday afternoon.) What is perplexing to me is why didn’t it sit well with me the first time? Clearly, it wasn’t the book when I read it through this time. So, therefore, it must have been me and where I was in my head.

The bookmark that was in the book had an advertisement for a contest that ended in December 2013. I am pretty sure the book was bought later than that and that the bookmark was a holdover from a previous purchase. It does date the book to be at least 9 years ago, as I normally don’t have bookmarks that last that long. The first few years for me in Fort McMurray were some of the more challenging ones in my life. I am wondering if the book was a little too heavy at a time when I was really needing something lighter.

It is a beautifully crafted story, set in Yellowknife, NWT. It was partially why I was attracted to it initially. After having spent time working at Diavik diamond mine in the NorthWest Territories, I remembered the YK (as it was referred to) stories from some of my former co-workers at the mine. I had enjoyed my time at Diavik. I think the book was evoking memories that were both good and painful. Not enough time had passed for me to be ready to read it.

I am glad that I finally read it. Next on the reading list - something more along the lines of some lighthearted chic lit.