Hitting the brakes

Simon and Garfunkel's "59th Street Bridge" song, aka "Feeling Groovy" seems to fit my life at times. This past week was one of those times.

"Slow down, you're moving too fast," I love the words to the song but I don't necessarily heed them.

At work, we have initiatives and campaigns and work plans and more. There's always been a fire in me to compete. Work is no different. We're a team, but really, we all want to be team leader. Or some of us do, I guess.

At home, the house has to be perfect, look perfect, feel perfect. That means more projects than I can handle all at once.

Just like work.

So when you're moving too fast, you ignore the warning lights that tell you you're about to hit a brick wall. That's what happened last week.

I have a high tolerance for pain is really code for I ignore it. I had been taking more Tylenol than usual, and kept promising myself I'd go see another doctor (the current one being fodder for another post.) But I had meetings to attend, and more work plans to finish and so I didn't.

The pain in my side finally got the best of me. The doctor sent me for tests. Then more tests and then I hit the brick wall. Hospital. Surgery. Talk about moving too fast, I hardly had time to take in what was happening.

The good news is that if I take it easy, I'll recuperate and live to go back to my harried life. The bad news is that if I don't, I might not get a chance to go back.

So for now, I'm going to allow myself sometime for "feeling groovy." I am taking sick leave, so I'm going to try to not check emails or voice mails. I'm going to slow down and get well.

"Slow down everyone
You're moving too fast
Frames can't catch you when
You're moving like that" ...Jack Johnson