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Real Life Nonsense
Dec. 14th, 2024 05:24 pmI thought about skipping martial arts class this morning so I could write, but decided to go because my physical health is important... Also, I'm trying to check off as many skills as possible so I can level from White to Blue! I consoled myself by planning to write all afternoon, at a library so no one could ask me to do anything.
By the time that was done and I made it home, ate, showered, changed, and put some more food into the InstantPot, it was almost 1 PM. If only I had left the house then, haha! But I didn't.
Right before 1, my 19-year-old came downstairs and informed me that he wanted to buy a Christmas present for a friend and ship it to New York. So I decided to help make that happen, since I'm the only driver in the house and he'd need me to transport him to the store and then the post office.
I remember saying, "Sweetie, why don't we just order it online and have it shipped to your friend in New York?" But he was adamant that it would be too impersonal to do it that way. He wanted to wrap it and send it himself. So, girding my loins for battle, I set out with him.
Of course, first we had to pick up his new medication at the pharmacy, and then go to a different store where I make a yearly pilgrimage for stocking stuffers. That was on me.
But after that, going to the store he wanted turned out to be insane! It took over 20 minutes to drive up into the parking ramp, because there were SO many people. At one point, we were just stuck in the car, idling, while infinite cars snaked past us coming the other way. There was no room for me because an employee was standing there with about 100 shopping carts in a long conga line, waiting for there to be enough room to push them down to the cart corral. I had to wait for him to move the carts before I could ease my car around the corner. More cars were headed right for me, of course, but I cleverly backed into a spot that my son had missed seeing.
Then we had to walk into the store and find the item, which took maybe 8 minutes. There was a long line to check out -- self-service, because more and more places are doing that now. And THEN we had to make our way back to the car and get out, which took 22 minutes total. At one point we had time for an entire Britney Spears song ("Toxic") without any forward movement at all. It was pretty bad!
Luckily no one had to use the toilet, and I had a half tank of gas still. If I'd been close to the bottom of my tank I would have been freaking out more. As it was, I just watched the sunlight slowing fading from the concrete pillars of the parking garage as we made our way down, and mentally thanked the Universe that my son and I are able to have a nice time together joking and laughing even despite adversity. (This is far different from how the same outing would have gone, if it had been me and my own father!)
Anyway, now it's home, and it's 5:30, and I can finally write! Of course, I have Date Night in just 2 hours, but if I still have energy after that I should be able to squeeze out another thousand words or so. And then I'll have most of the day tomorrow.
Still, I'm kicking myself for not fleeing the house right after I ate, showered, and changed. It was putting that second meal into the InstantPot that was my undoing. :-/
By the time that was done and I made it home, ate, showered, changed, and put some more food into the InstantPot, it was almost 1 PM. If only I had left the house then, haha! But I didn't.
Right before 1, my 19-year-old came downstairs and informed me that he wanted to buy a Christmas present for a friend and ship it to New York. So I decided to help make that happen, since I'm the only driver in the house and he'd need me to transport him to the store and then the post office.
I remember saying, "Sweetie, why don't we just order it online and have it shipped to your friend in New York?" But he was adamant that it would be too impersonal to do it that way. He wanted to wrap it and send it himself. So, girding my loins for battle, I set out with him.
Of course, first we had to pick up his new medication at the pharmacy, and then go to a different store where I make a yearly pilgrimage for stocking stuffers. That was on me.
But after that, going to the store he wanted turned out to be insane! It took over 20 minutes to drive up into the parking ramp, because there were SO many people. At one point, we were just stuck in the car, idling, while infinite cars snaked past us coming the other way. There was no room for me because an employee was standing there with about 100 shopping carts in a long conga line, waiting for there to be enough room to push them down to the cart corral. I had to wait for him to move the carts before I could ease my car around the corner. More cars were headed right for me, of course, but I cleverly backed into a spot that my son had missed seeing.
Then we had to walk into the store and find the item, which took maybe 8 minutes. There was a long line to check out -- self-service, because more and more places are doing that now. And THEN we had to make our way back to the car and get out, which took 22 minutes total. At one point we had time for an entire Britney Spears song ("Toxic") without any forward movement at all. It was pretty bad!
Luckily no one had to use the toilet, and I had a half tank of gas still. If I'd been close to the bottom of my tank I would have been freaking out more. As it was, I just watched the sunlight slowing fading from the concrete pillars of the parking garage as we made our way down, and mentally thanked the Universe that my son and I are able to have a nice time together joking and laughing even despite adversity. (This is far different from how the same outing would have gone, if it had been me and my own father!)
Anyway, now it's home, and it's 5:30, and I can finally write! Of course, I have Date Night in just 2 hours, but if I still have energy after that I should be able to squeeze out another thousand words or so. And then I'll have most of the day tomorrow.
Still, I'm kicking myself for not fleeing the house right after I ate, showered, and changed. It was putting that second meal into the InstantPot that was my undoing. :-/
