Ten good things..........

............about having a sprained wrist.

Either you can describe this as reframing the issue if you are into management-speak - or you can call me Little Ms Sunshine. I have to say I prefer the MBA-speak.

This incidentally is about a right-handed person who has sprained her right wrist. It would apply equally to a left-handed person. But not someone who is ambidextrous like Irritating Partner.

• You can't do the cleaning. (Not that you do much anyway)



• You can't do the ironing. (That was OK, didn't mind doing that, suitably mindless task without too much effort)



• You can't do the washing up. (You don't do that either normally)



• Or the drying up.



• Your finger nails grow very long and elegant because you aren't doing anything....



• You don't walk the dog. (It was his fault anyway...when he went for the cat)



• Your partner suddenly remembers how to cook. In fact he starts to do some things better than you can. Great roast pimientos.





• At more than 40 years of age you suddenly learn how to use your left hand.



• You can idle endlessly in a bath full of essential oils on the grounds that it is good for helping the swelling to go down, easing the bruising, relieving the stress, well, you get the idea...



• You have an excuse for not doing what you don't want to do, and indulging in whatever you do want to do.

And the counter-side....

• The house is dirtier than ever. (He doesn't like doing the cleaning either)



• There are no wrinkle-free clothes, and you can't even find half of them because the pile on the ironing board is so huge.



• You can't do the gardening with one hand.



• You have a scruffy-looking bandage on your arm, and sometimes your arm hurts. More initially. Less now - but this is two months later.



• You can't walk the dog - well the walking was nice - even if the cat-lusting dog was a bit of a nuisance. Walking too far (even without the dog) also makes your arm hurt.



• You can't type fast. Or accurately. This is very irritating but it finally seems to be getting better.



• And the biggie - you can't get on the bike. You can't grip the handlebar or use the right (rear-wheel) brake. Why is this a biggie?

Vanity. The calf muscles still look ok. The arms don't. And as for the sudden re-appearance of the cellulite that I thought had gone for ever....I'll buy an exercise bike if I can't get on a real bike any more after this incident.

So on balance there are more pros than cons. Idle life of leisure and brill cooking by Cocinero Partner. But this doesn't assign values to the points.

The downside is I'm less fit, I've no suntan ('cos I'm not out much), and the dreaded cellulite has reappeared. I'm counting the days to getting back on the bike.

So's the Cycling Partner 'cos he has no companion. And he's certainly sick of two months of cooking.