I was trying to come up with a word that meant ‘beyond tired’ and after a number of ‘close but no cigar’ words came to mind, I finally settled on ‘fried’. It has to be the word that best describes how my brain and body feel at this moment in time. I love a lot of things that are fried; I love fish and french fries and egg rolls and donuts and chimichangas and potato chips and fried chicken. In short, I love most foods that are coated in batter and cooked in a deep fat fryer. But when it comes to utilizing that particular word to describe my overall well-being, I’d prefer not to because it means I’m functioning at the level of ‘two cards short of a full deck’ or ‘a few sandwiches shy of a picnic’ or ‘a few bananas short of a bunch’. I don’t like operating at a reduced capacity because it takes a great deal longer to make things happen as opposed to when I’m ‘on my toes’. Because I was fried today, I managed to get very little accomplished aside from shuffling things around from one room to another. That’s not a good strategy to use if I plan on having everything completed within a week .
Fortunately, my husband is fried as well. Ok, I just have to ask, after reading the last sentence, did you pause and scratch your head? I know it probably sounded like a strange thing to say but if you give me a chance, I’ll better explain. The reason it’s ‘fortunate’ is because my husband’s been going ‘full speed ahead’ for the last 3-4 weeks, and was determined to have everything done by tomorrow, and I mean EVERYTHING. He was convinced it was possible and has been burning the candle at both ends. As a result, there’s very little wax or wick left. While we were standing in the kitchen this evening, attempting to come up with what to make (or pick up) for dinner, it took a lot of ‘back and forths’ before we were able to reach a half-hearted decision. During the conversation, ‘I don’t know’ was used frequently. Cooking a meal wasn’t out of the question, but the only thing I could think of that would be quick and easy was resurrecting the spaghetti with meat sauce I had in the freezer, and since my husband already had heartburn from the Italian dressing at lunch, I didn’t want to add insult to injury.
We had Arby’s for dinner a few days ago, followed (the next day) by homemade tacos, followed by Albertson’s ‘cheap/cheep’ chicken, followed by a ‘dressed up’ frozen pizza, so I suggested a couple of different restaurants which offered alternative fare. Neither one appealed to my husband, it was pretty evident by the sour expression on his face. I had just about given up, when I noticed a stack of restaurant coupons on the computer desk. After glancing through them, I was disappointed to discover that the only ones that hadn’t expired yet were for Arby’s and Papa Murphy’s. Since we just had pizza yesterday, and were both ready to start gnawing on our own arms because we were so hungry, Papa Murphy’s was out. I could eat pizza nearly every day of the week but I was all about ‘quick and easy’ and ‘Take ‘n’ Bake’ pizza only met one of those requirements. This left the one restaurant famous for its logo ‘We Have The Meats’. I like Arby’s but not enough to want to eat it twice in one week, however, it seemed like the best option since it fell under the ‘quick and easy’ category.
Once the decision was made, I grabbed my car keys and purse, and without bothering to change out of my slippers, headed out the front door. Because of the proximity of the restaurant, I was able to make it there and back in under 20 minutes. When we sat down to eat at the table, after I’d distributed the contents of the grease-stained bag, my husband made an announcement. “We’re taking a day off!” he said, “Tomorrow, let’s do nothing.” He then asked me what I wanted to do. I’m all for taking a day off, believe me, but before I’m able to do that, I think it’s important that I empty out the contents of the dressers (of the bedroom set I have for sale), and sort out what I want to bring (for immediate use), what I want to box up and store (until we find a home), and what I want to donate. Until that’s done, I won’t be able to relax. I’m going to mark the bedroom set down for the final time on Saturday and if it sells, I need it ready to go out the door. It won’t be ready if it’s full of socks and pajamas and t-shirts and workout gear and belts and jewelry and ‘unmentionables’. When I explained this to my husband, he was in complete agreement.
I have to admit that I’m relieved we are finally ‘on the same page’ because that’s not been the case in recent days. I wish I could tell you how many times my husband has walked into a room I was occupying and said, “What are you working on? We need to get this place packed up! I need it done by Friday!” “Why Friday?” I’d ask, trying to understand what the big hurry was all about, “We have two weeks to get the boxes packed and the crates loaded.” “We just need to get it done,” he’d respond without much elaboration (before heading to the gym to disassemble the rower, or to the shed to remove the last few ‘tubs of stuff’, or to one of the guest rooms to observe ‘all that remains’. Well, my friends, I am pleased to report that tonight he changed his tune. “I’m burning myself out,” he acknowledged, “I’ve been trying to stick to this self-imposed deadline and I’m exhausted. I just wasted a bunch of time moving stuff around in the crates and getting nowhere fast. We’re both fried and we both could use a day off.” Those last words he uttered were music to my ears! I’ve been trying to do as much as I can (within my abilities) and despite everything I’ve done, he didn’t seem satisfied. Until tonight, that is.
One of the things I love about my husband is that he’ll admit when he’s wrong. It might take him a while, but he’ll eventually get around to it. I have to laugh when I think about our initial plan to rent a U-Haul truck, pack it ourselves in a day, drive it to our destination (three days total travel time), unload the contents into a storage facility (upon our arrival), and have the truck returned to U-Haul safe and sound by ‘end of business’ on Day 5. If anything was going to make me lose the remaining hairs on my head, that would have done it! The dog and I already have a competition going to see who can shed the most hair and even though we’re currently ‘neck and neck’, the stress from a 5-day DIY U-Haul move would have given me the advantage I need to pull off a win. That’s not the kind of ‘race’ I’d prefer to compete in, however. The competitions I enjoy usually involve ‘getting the most for your dollar’ and have absolutely nothing to do with hair loss. Additionally, when my husband and I were both working, if we’d meet up for dinner afterward, I also enjoyed competing to see who’d get home first.
If you hand me five dollars and challenge me to make a healthy meal for 4 people, I will gladly rise to the challenge. I just hope those 4 people like spaghetti with meat sauce or something made with ground beef (although lately ground beef hasn’t been as affordable as it once was). If I was still working and made plans to meet up for dinner with my husband afterward, if we’d arrived in two separate cars, I’d be game to play ‘who gets home first’ once the meal was over. Why? That’s easy! It’s because I love proving that I found a quicker/shorter route. Nothing beats waving or honking obnoxiously when I sail past him while he’s stopped at an intersection, and being able to pull into the driveway before he gets a chance. That said, if you want me to participate in anything that will result in one more inch of my pink scalp being exposed, forget about it! When I cleaned my car a few weeks back, I could have made a pretty convincing doll wig out of all the silver strands I vacuumed up. Had I combined those strands with all of the rest I found lurking in assorted rooms throughout my house, I easily could have had more than enough to make one for a human.
All joking aside, I cannot wait until this process is over. It’s taking every bit of strength I have to ‘keep at it’ day after day, with a looming deadline serving as a motivator. The listing ‘frenzy’ has died down a bit, so I’ve been able to keep more of my focus on packing and less on selling (although I still continually check my email and texts and FB to see if anyone has inquired about the items I have for sale). I’m becoming quite concerned because two major furniture pieces/sets have yet to sell and we’re running out of time. If everything goes as planned, after I mark them down once more, they’ll find new homes this weekend. That’s my hope anyway. I’m not too worried about all of the ‘little stuff’ because it’s not terribly heavy and I can load it on to the bed of our truck and donate it to a thrift store if necessary. It’ll take several trips but that’s ok. It’s preferable to the landfill and it’s much closer. All right, if I’m going to be capable of forming a cohesive sentence tomorrow and/or removing and sorting through all of the contents of the dressers (and closet), I’d probably better get some shut eye. Even us ‘night owls’ need to rest from time to time.
Have a fantastic day…and thanks for stopping by!!
My entire family is insane. 
Yes, taking a day off sounds perfectly fine to me! Hopefully one can continue then again with renewed energy 😉.
We are helping a friend moving on Monday – fortunately she’s just moving to another suburb in our town. Her husband is working abroad and we’ve offered our help. My husband will have to drive the car with the trailer with all the big furniture (with the help of two other guys) and I will help with the smaller boxes in our car. But then, I suddenly thought today that we will have to eat something somewhere during the day … so, I’ve just offered to have food, snacks and drinks available during the day.
What I’m trying to say is that even though it’s not our move (and we’re basically just there on moving day), it’s a huge affair … and I totally understand that you’re “fried”!
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