It's the little things

As I continue to feel better, my improved health shows itself in new and unexpected ways on an almost daily basis.

For instance, in the last couple of weeks, it's been really cold. As a child, one of my favourite ways to get warm again when I'd got cold, playing in the rain or snow, was to soak in a long, hot bath. In around 2003, I stopped enjoying baths. By 2005, I really couldn't be bothered with them and took showers in preference, with the occasional soak in the bathtub if I'd had a day when I felt "reasonably ok" (though, in fact, I now know that "reasonably ok" in 2005 was "very unwell indeed" by today's standards).

As I topped up the hot water in my bath yesterday, watching my toes turning a satisfyingly cooked lobster shade of pink, I suddenly realised that when I get cold now, even though I have a daily shower to wake up in the morning, my thoughts are, once more, turning towards the joys of sinking into a tub of hot water and soapy bubbles. I'm even listening to the radio or taking a book to the bath with me again; by 2003, on those very rare occasions when I submerged myself in a tub of hot water, my immediate reaction was to fall asleep; that led to some interesting awakenings as I slid ungracefully under the water! Now, I almost never fall asleep in the bath - unless I've had a very long day.

So, it seems that the healing process can be quite stealthy; one day, you suddenly realise that you're doing things you haven't wanted to do or been able to do for a long time.

And now, it's time to select which bubbles to put in the bath this evening...