One of the upsides of my recent knee surgery, other then two weeks off of work, was that I was able to spend more time with my son. It's not how I would have like it, mostly siting around instead of running around playing games, but still more time then I would have other wise.
It is nice to take any opportunity available and sometimes sitting around is just what is needed. WE tend to do a lit of sitting around drawing, talking, reading etc - so for us getting out of the house is needed.