Saturday, September 4, 2010

But First...


My husband often asks, "Why don't you finish one thing before you start something new?" My answer is, "I try, but there are always so many things to do!"

Just this morning, I went to my laundry room, where we keep a large freezer, to get meat for dinner. “But first, I’ll scoop the cat box and put a load of clothes in the washer.” I thought. While scooping and cleaning up litter from the floor, I heard the mail carrier stop at our mailbox and went to see what he’d left.

Before going back in the house, I checked my flower garden and, yep, it needed water. So I put the mail right inside the door and went to the garage to get my watering can. The broom we keep there reminded me that I had been wanting to do some cleanup on the patio.

I grabbed the broom and started around the house, stepping on Iris leaves that had drooped over the walk. The rain had made them slippery, and, fearing someone would fall, I went back to the garage to get my shears. I cut the leaves back a bit, picked up the cuttings and carried them to the garbage can, then found my broom leaning against the house, where I’d propped it, and went to sweep the patio.

On my way to the garage to put the broom back, a neighbor spoke, and I stopped to chat about the weather, the price of gasoline and other things of interest.

I watered my plants and went back into the house, and remembered that I hadn’t put the clothes in the washer. “I’ll go do that; but first, I want to look at the mail.” I thought. Most of it was junk and filed in the trash can, but I put a few things aside to look at later.

On my way to the laundry room, the phone rang. Answering to hear my daughter sounding very upset gave me a start until she quickly assured me that everything was fine. She was just having a bad day with her two children and wanted to take a break! I brewed a cup of tea and we talked for thirty minutes.

Forgetting about my laundry, I went to the kitchen to make some decisions about dinner, but first, decided to look at the mail I had put aside earlier. As I picked up the first letter, I heard “ding” on my laptop. I had just received mail. I walked over to see who it was from and, wow! I had lots of e-mail! Looking at the clock and noting that it was only two-thirty, I decided I had a little time to answer mail before starting dinner.

After looking at the e-mail and answering the most important ones, I said, “I’ve got time to do a little dusting if I hurry.” Feather duster in hand, I noticed at once that there were too many magazines on my coffee table, and decided to weed them out; “but first, I’d better cut those articles I want to keep,” I thought.

Sitting on the floor, surrounded by piles of magazines marked; Throw Away.  Keep. Cut Articles… I felt a little annoyed when my husband appeared and asked, “What’s for dinner?”

 “Chops," I answered curtly. "I’ll start cooking as soon as I finish this!” He left the room.

Suddenly feeling guilty, I put the magazines aside, vowing to get back to them after dinner, and went into the kitchen to cook—“but first, I’d better put those clothes in the washer.”

That finally done, I went back to the kitchen. Surprised and exasperated, I yelled, “What happened to the pork chops I got out of the freezer this morning?”

Rushing in, my husband said, “Are you sure you got them?”

“Of course I’m sure! Let’s see... I opened the freezer door; noticed the cat box needed attention; heard the mailman, and then… Uh-Oh!”

Eyeing the clock, which now read 5:30, I said, “It’ll be a late dinner if I thaw and cook meat now!”

There was a long silence.

“We could have pizza,” I said sheepishly.

Another long silence... and then a weak, “Okay.”

“I’ll call Pizza Hut… but first…”

I’ll do it myself!” he snapped.

 
Have you ever noticed how grouchy men get when they’re hungry?





1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i can't believe how good this story is. It is just like me. I do this all the time.