Oct 23, 2012

WHY CAN'T I JUST BE NORMAL?

As I was trying to get my wit (*) about me on Sunday, I kept saying to no one in particular...."You only have three things to do today.  Read the papers. Make pasta fagioli.  Stitch."

(*) And yes, I know that the expression is "get my wits about me", but come on.  This is ME we're talking about.  I am, most definitely, a little short in the whole "wit" department.  Thus...wit singular versus wit plural.

Nine hours later I collapsed into the Happy Chair wondering why I just couldn't be a normal person like everybody else and do things in moderation.  I futzed and cleaned and laundered and flipped and re-filled and polished and swept and scoured and baked and washed and dried and organized and moved and dusted and rinsed and folded and fluffed until I thought I was going to drop.  What was supposed to be a perfectly quiet Sunday turned into a "Hey!  Let's shampoo the furniture and then re-arrange the storage closet in the garage!" kind of day.

Oh well.  At least the house looks and smells nice now.

On Saturday, I also did a little housework, but was so wiped out after about ten minutes of it that I decided to call Aunt Chrissy instead.  This is one of my very favorite procrastinating techniques, since I can usually convince Aunt Chrissy to go for a cheeseburger, or, if the stars are in perfect alignment, head to the Bed Bath and Freakin Beyond for a bunch of crap that we didn't even know we needed.

"I don't understand it", I whined into the phone.  "I used to be able to clean my house from the top to the bottom every single Saturday and then have enough energy to go grocery shopping and out to dinner with my friends afterwards.  What's happened to meeeee?"

"Well, for one thing, you're old now and not twenty two", Aunt Chrissy replied.  "And for another, your "house" is now bigger than a bedspread and consists of more than a crock pot and a twin bed.  Face it, Coni Jo.  Life has moved on, even if you haven't.  It's 2012.  You're 46 and feeble and should be grateful that Stewey and I haven't put you in a lovely "retirement community" by now."

At least that's what the conversation sounded like in my head, anyway.

The truth of the matter is that I was the one that admitted that I'm just not able to keep up like I used to.  This revelation particularly sucks, because once you've gotten yourself used to an OCD perfection of immaculateness, it's hard to let it go and peacefully co-exist with dust bunnies and the occasional puppy nose print.  My surroundings used to look like a surgical theater.  Now, they're more like a crime scene.

Hope is not lost, however, since I am convinced that the only thing I need to do is create a weekly routine that will allow for some easy chores in the morning and a lot of happy stitching in the evenings.  If I'm really good and learn to embrace the whole "no need to dis-assemble the entire refrigerator every four days to clean and disinfect it" approach, I might actually learn to enjoy this new stage of my life.

In the meantime, anybody wanna go for a cheeseburger?

16 comments:

  1. Mmmm I'll come with you, never mind the housework!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can soooooo relate to this post...I'm struggling to co-exist with dust bunnies myself!! So...toss that dish rag in the sink, prop the mop up by the wall, and let's go get that cheeseburger...I would love another partner in grime! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  3. Forget housework! Let's go get a cheeseburger and a shake.

    Claudine

    ReplyDelete
  4. I would love to go for a cheeseburger with you. I could teach you a thing or two about TRULY procrastinating. Sigh... I just received news that my 1st GREAT granddaughter was just born. Talk about feeling old and feeble. Oh my. ;) Cathryn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wooo Hoooo! Congratulations to you and yours! Does the little darling have a name yet? If not, I think that Baby Constance has a lovely ring to it...just sayin'.

      Delete
  5. I'm all for the cheesburger. I too am "feeling" my age. I have never been an engertic person, but now. I think turtles have more energy than I do. :P

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think age is my problem too. 47 and somehow my brain is still saying I am 20 and my body is yelling 55! lol I am all for that cheesburger! I have to have fries and a vanilla shake with mine!! Make room in the car for me Coni!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You know, I think the same thing, all the darn time! I think why can't I just relax and stitch. That's all I want to do, is stitch, not shop for more stitching stuff. I have plenty of stuff! If I actually stopped trying to do everything and just sit for a minute and stitch, I may actually get something finished!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Okay MzConi, I think you need to get a grip!! You have just endured the cold/flu/bronchitis of the century and were sick and on your deathbed for the past month and you now wonder why you can't clean the house and save the world in three hours and have energy left? What is with you my dear??? Give yourself a break! I hate to tell you this, but it doesn't get any easier the older you get. A girlfriend reminded me the other day that I was 63 now, when I complained, and not 36. So, my advice is to give yourself permission to go at things more slowly--smell the roses, enjoy your friends and your dear sister, cuddle Stewey and then, and only then, worry about housework.
    Pamela
    (enjoying life but old with several dozen dust bunnies skittering around)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yeah, and stitch till your fingers fall off!!!! :-)

      Delete
  9. coni Jo
    Try flylady.net nad 15 minutes a day keeps the dust bunnies away. I use it all the time and I am the worst housekeeper at procrastinating cos if I can't do it all I don't do any.
    now have a great bathroom, vacuum mostly done but dusting still a bit hit and miss.
    diane

    ReplyDelete
  10. meet ya at Cheddars, bring Stewey for the left overs

    ReplyDelete
  11. They're not nose prints; it's dog art!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I tried 'normal' once. It was highly over rated. Go have a cheeseburger.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sigh. Yes, Coni Jo, I know EXACTLY what you mean. Just this morning, I moaned and groaned to myself at all I needed to do for over an hour. Finally got up, put my dirty sheets in the washing machine, got distracted by the multitude of other stuff in the laundry room that needed doing, finally remembered to turn on the washing machine, went to put some just-ripened tomatoes in the fridge, noticed the rotting veggies etc. already in there, decided I needed to sterilize the entire fridge......you get the picture. And no, at 54 years, I am not yet wiser evidently!!

    Debbie in Kansas

    ReplyDelete