I've been looking everywhere I can for the upside to this inconvenience (not to mention the frequently astonishing pain) caused by the coup d'état my back has staged. It ain't easy. I could dwell on the fact that I can't walk more than a few yards without needing to sit down, or how nighttime sleep has become so abridged you'd think it was a Reader's Digest edition.

Instead, I'll just mention that I've rediscovered the pleasure of taking a bath.

See, in addition to not being able to walk very far, I can't stand for very long. In this case, "very long" would be the same as "the length of time it takes to wash my hair," much less the rest of me. So yesterday I finally had to relent, move all the soap and gels and stuff to where I could reach them, and filled up the tub for a bath.

It was wonderful.

Eventually, I know my back pain will get better, or at the very least I'll have learned to deal with it better. But really, the nicest part of my day lately is lying in a hot bath with a cup of coffee and a New Yorker. 

Maybe I should move the coffeemaker into the bathroom. 

*At least I didn't make the title "Tubthumping," did I? Otherwise you'd have that song running through your head all night. Oh, wait....