Well, I Threw Myself Down the Stairs Like a Ghostly Victorian Child

Dearest Deathlings,

In last month's letter I revealed that, in defiance of my sabbatical, I was back to working. Such willfulness Caitlin doth display, such hubris!

As I have since learned, the sabbatical is a cruel mistress and does not appreciate defiance. The week before Thanksgiving I did what can best be described as "forgot how stairs work" and stepped out into space. Very horror movie, very ghostly, very.... Sabbatical 2- Revengebbatical.

One surgery, one titanium plate, and seven screws in my ankle later, I guess I'm on sabbatical for a little while longer.  (As the sabbatical always wanted?)

Jokes aside, I did do all that. 😑

I've never been seriously injured this way before– and I have so much respect for the mental game required to be in bed 23 hours a day. (Also aware that I'm just visiting for several months what others deal with a good portion of the time.)

After watching a zillion broken ankle recovery vlogs, I'm ALSO grateful to not be in the situation of one woman I watched who was on a cruise and slipped in a public bathroom while she was pulling up her swimsuit. She landed naked on the floor of said public bathroom and just had to lie there naked under the toilet with her broken ankle until somebody brought a wheelchair. May that particular situation never grace any of our doorsteps.

If you can believe it, I did manage to film a new video last week, propped up like a combination of the cadaver synod pope and mummy god.*  (Only TRUE Ask a Mortician fans will get both references.) 

I'm going to take my time with the editing process over the coming weeks.  A good friend of mine wisely said, "if you need more time, take more time, but don't use your injury to justify the reason why you 'deserve' more time."  The sabbatical lessons keep pouring in everyday, folks!

This has been a real change in my life. But, then again, so was the sabbatical!  

Scrolling back through my camera roll from January/February 2023, I see how uninspired I was– I had a cough that wouldn't go away for months, I wasn't traveling, just taking pictures of coloring book pages I was doing for stress management. This year I'm heading into the new year literally in bed unable to do ANYTHING and yet, I'm so much happier! I'm working on things I'm really proud of and I know I have the support of this community. 

I'm not saying snapping your ankle is a hack (REALLY I'M NOT IT IS BAD) but I am grateful for the grand finale fireworks end to this sabbatical, giving me all the lessons I need whether I like them or not. 

Happy holidays to you, however you celebrate. I hope this time is filled with as much love and coziness for you as I feel in this bed moved into my dining room to be nearer to the bathroom with a TV playing YouTube's 5-hour "Snowing Christmas Living Room Sounds of Fireplace."

<3<3<3<3<3

* The Love Has Won documentary on HBO is actually a fascinating watch and I think very well done. Check it out if you have Max or, like me, your mother's login.