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Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This
First, let me say that this morning was not the end of the world. But I could not possibly have packed in more upset, frustration, or mishaps than I experienced this morning. And it all happened in the first half-hour of waking up.
My clock radio went off at 6:40 a.m. Earlier in the day, I had corrected the volume because the volume had been so soft the morning before that I almost didn’t hear it go off.
Well, we heard it this morning—blasting both me and my husband wide awake.
I guess I’d over-corrected. Especially since my husband usually is able to sleep through it. After correcting the volume and turning off the radio, I went to the other end of the room to continue getting dressed for my morning walk.
Suddenly, the radio was blasting again! What? My husband calls out and as I raced to shut it off, I realize that I’d only punched the radio on/off button (not the alarm) and put it into snooze mode.
Okay. Apologies to my hubby. I finished getting dressed.
I quietly closed the bedroom door and on my way to the kitchen, I pick up my heavy winter coat, mittens, scarf, and a knitted hat that I’d placed on the sofa the night before. I dumped them on the kitchen island and began to dress up for the horrible cold (40 degrees!)
Warm jacket—check!
Knitted hat—check!
Mittens–
Mittens? One mitten? What?
I ran over to the closet where the items were all stored before I took them out the night before.
No mitten.
Then I glanced at the sofa. There’s that pathetic little mitten clinging to the arm of the sofa.
I rushed over to get it; now I’m worried about running late because I have breakfast with friends later. So I put on all my warm clothes, my headphones and reach for my MP3.
No MP3.
It was not on the counter where I was sure I’d placed it the night before.
Now I’m getting upset. Okay, I must have left the MP3 on my desk after charging it, which meant I had to open the bedroom door and go to the other end of the house to my computer. I check my desk.
No MP3.
I made this same trip three times because the MP3 did not miraculously appear on the kitchen island or on the desk and I knew it had to be somewhere. As quiet as I tried to be, my husband asked me later why I came through the bedroom three times. Sigh.
I finally decided to walk without my MP3. Sorry, Andrew Klavan.
When I returned from my brisk walk, something made me move a large dish with a lip that rests on the kitchen island.
There was the MP3.
Let’s just say that after a hot shower and having breakfast with my friends, I felt some of my sanity return.
For now.
Published in Humor
That was not a bad day. It was just not a great day. It did not even come close to my definition of a bad day.
And the worse things go at the beginning of the day the more likely it is the rest of the day will be better. As Nicolas Chamfort said, “Eat a live toad first thing in the morning. Then you know there is likely nothing worst that will happen to you the rest of the day.” You ate your toad.
Oh, @seawriter, I know all that! You are just no fun at all! In the moment it was ghastly; two hours later I was laughing about it. Now I’ve had fun writing about it. Are you trying to ruin my day??
Man, I wish any day in this last two weeks had gone that well.
Edit: And just to prove it, I had to edit this comment
threesix times to get it right. Oy!Permit me to [tee-hee] behind my hand. 100% of your problems were caused by…you!
My day starts at 0510, and I am at work by 0555. Today I am leaving in the middle of the day for a haircut, so I will be working late when I get back. This week is Business Survey week, so Thursday evening will be spent in my home office compiling the ISM-Western Washington Report on Business for November. That takes around three hours. Makes for some very long days.
Hat and mittens at 40 degrees? Funny how the body acclimates to the ambient weather. I’d probably be carrying my coat at 40 degrees. So what would make us think that we would not acclimate to the slow burn of global warming? Or chill of global cooling? Oh yeah, science.
Had to do it:
Slow on the trigger, @blondie, but Mama said there’d be days like that.
Dang it, @arahant! We’ve done that before.
You realize you are inviting mockery from those in the climates of the northern US (at least those heartless enough to overlook the trend of other problems in your morning). Although I will acknowledge (based on the 18 years I lived near Rochester NY), 40 degrees in fall to early winter is colder than 40 degrees will be in early spring.
It was also 40 degrees this morning here where I now live in north central Texas, and I did put on a medium jacket. I always wear a hat (brimmed western style) for the dual purpose of keeping head warm and/or preventing sunburn on my bald head, so I had that. And I actually enjoy wearing leather gloves, so I put those on too, though I used my unlined ones, since anything with insulation would have been too warm.
Hey, I’ve been up since 3:30. Cut me some slack.
It was 36 yesterday afternoon as I went out at 5:30 PM. I put on a jacket, but I never zipped it up.
I’m glad you were able to meet your friends for breakfast. I’m sure it made up for the rough start.
The primary reason I got a “smart phone” fairly soon after they came out about 12 years ago was that having three separate devices – “dumb” phone, MP3 player, and calendar device (remember the Palm Pilot?) – meant that I did not touch each frequently, and so was likely to misplace any one of them. If all those functions were in one device, I was likely to touch it often enough that I would be less likely to misplace it.
Some of us have an actual problem that days like that prompt us to start in on negative self talk about what a terrible person I must be.
I sometimes see little things like that (misplacing an item, not seeing an item, making an error in setting something up) as signs that I am stupid or incompetent or otherwise a deficient human being. Mrs. Tabby with some frequency has to redirect me when I get into such a mode. Mrs. Tabby has had to do that more since I retired than she did when I was employed. The little setbacks of daily life loom larger in my mind now that I don’t have the regular successes that came from performing my job (at which I was pretty competent).
Funny!! Yeah, I’m a wimp. When I lived in Colorado and MA, I’d have called myself a wimp. Thanks for making me smile, @juliana.
Thanks for saving me the effort, @blondie!
Think so? Yeah, you have reason to mock me,@fullsizetabby. But I’ll return the favor when you are shoveling four feet of snow and I’m in my light jacket. See there!
It sure did! But it did make a funny story–after the fact!
My dilemma is that the wonderful headphones I have won’t plug into my smart phone. Not so smart, is it! But I do love the smart phone anyway!
Not to put too fine a point on it but sure sounds like first world problems to me.
No kidding! I have things I’m working on, but when I go through a period of absent-mindedness, I worry about my mind. The idea of dementia really worries me. Didn’t have it in my family, but my periods of forgetting seem to be increasing. I think I just need to stop counting them!
And your point is?? How am I supposed to have third world problems?
Take a trip?
smarty pants!
🤷♂️ Well, it could work.
It has worked! I have a list from Nepal; but I think lots of people know me well enough to know that I took most of those concerns in stride. I only like to complain when I have everything I need.
Its never just one thing.
If it were, I’d have nothing to write and complain about!
Count your blessings Susan, I can lay my iPhone down on the counter, turn and walk away, then spend the next 30 minutes looking for it.
Venezuela isn’t far as the crow flies from the Villages.