Feeling Better

Is there anything worse than getting sick? I always feel as if my body has betrayed me. (Though actually in this instance I sort of betrayed my body. I certainly have been overdoing it with the stress, and not balancing that with the proper amount of vegetables and exercise. It's no wonder that I fell into the sneaky grasp of the ear infection monster.)

On the other hand, getting better after even a short illness shines a bright light on my own luckiness, the kind that I normally forget about. I can breathe! Air flows into my nose and gives me the power to go about my day without getting exhausted and light-headed! How damned amazing is that?

I'm lucky in other ways. I have some incredible friends. Two friends visited me (well, Daejeon, not just me) this weekend. I met them at the train station and was immediately crushed into one of those hugs that sort of hurts while simultaneously smashing all your broken pieces back where they belong. After dropping them at their hotel, I went and had dinner with my coteacher and her husband. The food was not that awesome, but the invitation, the kind welcoming warmth of it, was keenly felt. Then it was out again, for drinks and noraebang (karaoke) with all my favorite people in Korea: a super fun night.

Sunday morning I lay on my warm floor, the sun peeking in through my too-sheer curtains, all wrapped up. I dozed in and out of focus, too content and calm to do anything except listen (I barely remember what to, which goes to show how truly my focus had gone) and watch dust motes waft glowing around the room. My muscles relaxed, my jaw unclenched, and I melted into a little limp puddle. It's so rare for me to feel calm like that. It was really hard for me to drag myself out into the real world again.