A Good Day

The last blog I wrote was about the “oops” kinda day I had recently. Calamity Jane was even referenced. But I figure when I have bad days, I can either laugh about ‘em – and write about ‘em – or I can feel sorry for myself.

 

If I’ve learned anything at my advanced age, I know that the latter doesn’t really help. Oh, sure, sometimes I give myself a few moments to grumble and rant a little or even shed a tear or two in frustration, but then I have to move on and take care of things. It’s not like I have a magical fairy godmother who is following along behind me sweeping up my messes.

 

But, anyway, by the same token, if something good happens to me, then I should write about that, too, shouldn’t I?

 

Well, last Friday I had a really good day. And, by the end of it, I was filled with all sorts of happy vibes and cheerful smiles.

 

The weird thing was, all that happened was I had a great phone conversation in the morning with a cousin of mine – and then a fun lunch followed by a little impromptu shopping with a long-time friend in the afternoon.

 

So it’s not like I won the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes or anything. But neither did I spill anything that required me to break out the dust buster and the mop.

 

Anyway, I guess it just goes to show that it doesn’t take much to make me smile.  

 

My cousin and I hadn’t caught up with each other in a while, so we scheduled a phone call for Friday morning. We talked about this and that, everything and nothing.

 

I was telling her about how Vince could talk to anyone, strangers or friends and family alike, so it was easy to be in social situations with him by my side. And how that was but one of the things I missed about him.

 

But it’s not so easy for me to talk to new people because of my innate shyness. The operative word in that sentence being “new.” She understood what I was saying. And she said she could picture me as a little girl with my bangs and long blond hair, sitting back quietly and watching the goings on in our family without saying much.

 

Not many of my long-time friends think of me as being shy. Because once I know someone well, it’s hard to shut me up.

 

But she has known me my whole life and “gets” me. There really isn’t anyone else in my life who knows me like that anymore. So it was kind of comforting.

 

We were also talking about how gray and gloomy the weather is in both Ohio and Michigan this time of year and how we were looking forward to the spring. Toward the end of our little gab-fest, she marveled at how the sun had come out for the first time in what seemed like forever. So she planned to spend some time outside soaking up a little Vitamin D.

 

We ended our conversation with the promise that we’d schedule these calls more regularly. When I took Maggie out for a walk a few minutes later, I noticed it was all sunshine-y here, too. Oh, happy day! 

 

After I managed to locate my seldom-used sunglasses, I left for lunch with my friend. We went to a restaurant in German Village that I remember going to as far back as my early 20s. So we reminisced about those fun times and the people we knew back then.

 

And we laughed. About silly things. About…well…I guess I can’t give you examples. Maybe it was one of those “you had to be there” kinds of things. Probably one of us said something lame or obvious. And the other one had to call her out on it. But we laughed a lot. And, no – no adult beverages were involved.

 

But, really. I love those kinds of interactions.

 

We had decided to go across the street to a little shop that has been around forever and we had fun poking in all the drawers and rooms holding all manner of trinkets and treasures.

 

And then, because we didn’t want to end the day, we went to another few shops in German Village, none of which I’d ever been to – and I worked in German Village for over twelve years!

 

Our last stop was at a fudge shop across the street from Schmidt’s Restaurant und Sausage Haus (because we were, after all, in German Village). She and I wandered around the small store and exclaimed about all the candy they still sold that reminded us of our childhoods.

 

Anyone remember candy necklaces? Pop Rocks? Wax bottles with liquid sugar juice inside? Candy cigarettes? (Can you believe they still make that last one?)

 

Sheesh. It’s a wonder we survived our childhoods.

 

But in this last shop, I discovered a tiny artificial white birch tree with glimmer lights hidden away behind some other treasures and I decided I simply had to have it.

 

And when I drove home, I was tired but happy. I reveled in having a simple but a good day.

 

And now I have a cute little tree that I set up on my entryway table and added some pink hearts for Valentine’s Day. I envision little shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day, pastel eggs for Easter…well, you get the idea. And it’ll make me giddy looking at it all year long.

 

Again, it’s the little things, people!

 

So I wish for you a good day.

 

And, since it’s already the first of February, I wish for you a good month.

Calamity Jane Strikes Again

 

Yesterday was one of “those” days. You know the ones where nothing goes quite right?

 

First thing I planned to do was a quick load of laundry before heading out to gas up the car and make a Costco run.

 

I scooped up an armful of clothes from the bin, walked to the laundry room (which, if you must know, is only about three steps away) and shifted the clothes to one arm so I could snag a laundry pod from the container with the other. I tossed the pod in the washer and then tried the same maneuver on the container holding the Scent Booster beads.

 

Except the Scent Booster container requires two hands to open.

 

Oh, sure, I have – in the past – managed to open it one-handed. But it has always been an iffy proposition with the container almost, but not quite, tipping over.

 

Yesterday’s attempt resulted in disaster.

 

The pink beads went flying all over the washing machine, the floor, the rug and even on the carpet in the hallway.

 

Only then did I drop the clothes on the floor.

 

And then I uttered a few choice phrases before attempting to clean up the mess.

 

I had to shoo Maggie Minx out of the way lest she think the pink beads were some sort of new toy to play with or treat to sample. After I got the laundry in the machine and started it, I cleaned up all those blasted pink beads in the hallway and then started picking up as many as I could in the laundry room itself.

 

And then I…well…I turned off the light and shut the door to the laundry room.

 

Yeah, I admit it – I left the mess on the floor.

 

But, really, I was just being considerate of my dog. She absolutely despises the broom and dustpan as well as the vacuum cleaner. Either one will send her into a frenzy. And, frankly, my nerves couldn’t take her crazed barking just then.

 

Instead, I waited until later after we’d gone for our late afternoon walk and she was chowing down on her dinner. She didn’t even notice she was still attached to her leash that was connected to the pantry door.

 

So I furtively grabbed the broom and dustpan and quickly swept up the mess, shook out the rug and had it all back to rights by the time Maggie finished her kibble.

 

Whew!

 

But was that the only thing that went wrong yesterday?

 

Uh, no. No, it wasn’t.

 

After the laundry room debacle, I thought I’d shaken it off. I mean, hey – it’s a good indicator that I was rushing and needed to slow down. And, really, how difficult is it to simply place the laundry pod and the scent booster in the washing machine first – and then get the dirty clothes from the bin and place them in the washer?

 

Not difficult at all. So, okay – lesson learned.

 

Between Maggie’s third and fourth walk of the day, I left for Costco. While my list is shorter these days, I hadn’t been to Costco in a while so I had quite a few things on my list.

 

After I flashed my card at the sentry, I opened my purse to put my card back in my wallet and extract my list. Except my list wasn’t anywhere to be found. And then I realized that it must have been on the dining room table where I had left it.

 

Sigh.

 

While items like lettuce and chicken and paper towels were easy enough to remember, I had a slew of vitamins I needed to replenish. And I had no idea if I needed to buy Vitamin D3 or E or…was it C Complex?

 

I had no clue.

 

And, sure, I could’ve simply bought a bottle of multi-vitamins, which could have taken care of the problem, but I like doing things the hard way. Evidently.

 

Nevertheless, I kept calm and simply decided to wait to purchase vitamins on my next Costco trip. I had already filled my vitamin and supplement containers for the next two months, anyway, so I’m really in no big hurry to buy replacements. It was more a “top of mind” kind of thing.

 

I paid for my groceries, loaded them in the car and headed for home.

 

Now, I don’t know if you’re like me – but I hate making numerous trips from the car to the kitchen counter with my groceries. I try to make it in as few trips as humanly possible.

 

Except that I’m getting older. And while I used to be able to make it in one trip with bags lining my arms to my elbows, I know those days are long over.

 

Besides, I had no plastic bags. We’re talking Costco, remember?

 

Instead, I had a cloth bin with handles and a heavy-duty reusable shopping bag that held the bulk of my purchases. And I also had things in the trunk that had to be carried in separately. Like the paper towels.

 

So I had the shopping bag over one arm and the cloth bin with handles in the other. I hefted them out of the trunk and I was almost in the kitchen – when my arms gave out, I lost my grip – and both the bag and the bin landed on the floor in a big puddle.

 

Not literally, fortunately, as there was only one liquid item in the bag in the form of a bottle of balsamic vinegar.

 

By this point, I couldn’t even muster any outrage. As a matter of fact, I started laughing because, I mean, what else could I do? And my mirth was mostly from the quizzical look on Maggie’s face and her little tilted head as if she were trying to say, What the heck is the matter with you today, lady??

 

So I started picking up the mess. I was happy that nothing was broken or mooshed beyond repair, although the package of pita bread was a little squished since the bottle of balsamic vinegar landed on top of it.

 

But I was grateful that the pita softened the blow and the bottle of balsamic didn’t break. Small victories – right?

 

After all that, I figured I’d done enough damage for the day, so Maggie and I spent the rest of the evening ensconced on the couch watching Netflix. Well, Maggie snoozed next to me while I watched TV.

 

And today? Well, I’m happy to report that there have been no calamities in Jane’s Domain.

 

So far.