I came home this evening anticipating something very different.
I had just closed out one phase of life and I simply assumed that I'd have a few days to catch my breath. Sitting at the dining room table, our family observed an obligatory few moments of sadness and reflected on what had happened these past few days.
As far as I could tell, that was the agenda for the evening.
Boy, was I in for a surprise . . .
With Julie and Molly working almost every day now, it turns out that I've been given a few responsibilities that I didn't exactly expect. Suddenly, I've been thrown into a world that I don't know - and, tonight, I was given a crash course on my new life.
Without going into every detail, this is what I'm being told tonight:
The dog gets walked at 7:15 a.m. He can either go down M-65 or through the woods to Keating, though the mosquitos on the two-track are bad this week. I need to keep the dog on a harness because he's still dealing with his injury from last week; he shouldn't run too much yet. He gets the two big pills twice a day, and the other pill once a day. He gets a treat in the morning, and he likes to have soft food on top of his regular dog food. I then need to take the laptop into town to download the new word processing program. I can evidently use the wi-fi at the local coffee shop, but I'm not allowed to be there unless I order something. The spiced chai is better than the vanilla, and the hot tea would be another good option. Since it's a new computer, I can't recharge the battery until it runs out completely - but I can't let that happen if I'm in the middle of the download. I should sit at a table and not a booth, because all the plugs are near the tables. And I might need a plug, though I probably shouldn't. There are several packages that need to be mailed and I can't forget that all three of our local post offices have different hours. I need to make a deposit at the bank, make an appointment to have the oil changed in the car, and write three thank-you notes. Molly gets off of work at 3:30 and then needs to run several errands at that point. And naturally, the grass needs to be cut again. Oh, and by the way, the garden hasn't been weeded in a week. And I can't forget that we have plans for the evening. Thankfully, the kitchen is already cleaned up and the laundry is done, or I'm afraid that those things would be on my list too.
I know that these are all easy things. And you're probably saying that you could complete that list by 9:00 a.m. So yes, these are all easy things.
But they are all easy things that somebody else always took care of. I suppose that I'll figure it all out, though I suspect that it would be a lot easier just to go to work.
Silly me - I thought that I'd be sitting on the porch reading a book. And that's exactly what I planned to do. Until I got my assignments for tomorrow.
If you see a guy in town with a three-page list tomorrow, that would be me.
Maybe I'll make it to the porch on Friday . . .