A Classic Linda Day

It started out as an ordinary day in the life of me, but no day is ordinary in my life, as I have come to realize.  It was a “don’t-have-to-go-anywhere-or-look-nice” kind of day, so I was sporting my summer uniform of denim shorts and a Walmart USA t-shirt.  Breakfast was under way, but the blown-up chili and eggs on the inside of the microwave grossed me out beyond my comfort level.  As I always do, I filled a small bowl with water and set it in the microwave to be heated to boiling… and thus moistening all the hard-as-cement bits glaring at me.  This has been my “clean the microwave” practice for over 20 years.  It has never failed me until today.  I set the timer for four minutes and stood by spreading cream cheese on a bagel.  I was a little too close to the microwave for comfort.  The bowl boiled down to vapors and the pressure inside the little white oven blasted the door open. Yes, the water hit the side of my head and soaked my Wally World t-shirt.  I also screamed…. quite loudly.  And scared the dog.  Thankfully it was not boiling hot water… it was luke warm water that didn’t burn the skin off the side of my face.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement for one day….. I decided it was time for the bi-annual shower cleaning in the master bathroom.  Don’t judge me.  We do not have a water softener and the hard water clings to the shower door and walls like Saran wrap to itself.  Happily (ok, not really) I was spraying and scrubbing the shower… fully clothed, still in my summer uniform.  I was utilizing a large 7-11 cup to rinse the walls as I went along.  Then the phone rang and I abruptly stood up, my shoulder hitting the shower tap and turning on the cold water from the shower nozzle….. blasting the same side of my head that WAS recently dry after the microwave blasting only an hour earlier.  This was WAY more water, however.  Sufficiently drenched.

When my husband finally arrived home and we were sitting like the Cleavers having dinner around the table, he asked the ominous question, “How did your day go?”  “Before or after I got blasted in the head twice?”  Another classic Linda day.

December First and All’s Well

Well, not really, but the title sounded good.  For some unknown reason, I blogged faithfully in November but lost part of my brain in the process.  I’m in recovery mode for the next two days here before we leave for California.  Did I mention that in those two days we have a trip to the library, packing, piano lessons, Royal Ranger awards night/party, two hockey practices…. and I’m speaking tomorrow to highly organized pre-school teachers???

Three library books are missing in action.  On my last trip to the library, I was notified that I returned a DVD case minus the DVD.  Wonder where Tut, The Boy King is hiding? 

Unorganization is not usually a strong point for me, so this is all a bit frustrating.  (I don’t think I’m clinically OCD???)  Last night I was digging in the fridge to make dinner and I pulled out various ingredients for planned meals…. but hit a few glitches.  Everything for Chinese Chicken Salad was accounted for except the chicken. The cabbage, green onions, cilantro, ramen noodles and sauce mix were all out when I discovered the missing chicken.  Oh, this takes me back to cornflake fried chicken and memory loss!  I indeed pulled out some frozen thighs and started the long process of defrosting and frying. 

In the meantime I decided to make lasagna.  Rick’s favorite… I’ll score some points!  Ground beef… check.  Mozzarella, ricotta and Parmesan cheeses… check.  Tomato sauce, eggs and parsley.. check.  Lastly, lasagna noodles……   OH GREAT!  The noodle shelf was full of elbows and wagon wheels, but no big flat guys.  Yes, all the Italian ingredients were on the counter next to the Chinese Chicken salad greens.

At this point I threw the garlic loaf in the oven.  I made a pseudo Caesar salad with spinach and croutons.  Lastly, out of desperation, I made garlic-flavored instant mashed potatoes because I love them.  More than Stove Top.  Yes, it was a lame dinner, but hey, it was hot and it only had to serve my husband, myself and our daughter.  It all tasted good, but it felt like we came to dinner in our underwear and jewelry and forgot our pants.

So as we’re gathered around the family dinner table in familial partaking and generational bonding over the lame dinner, guess who rings the doorbell?  Yep, my mom and dad.  The same mother who would never dream of serving such a carb-infested, protein-lacking meal of non-sustenance.  I did point out the chicken in the frying pan and all the lasagna ingredients on the counter…..

If all of December is going to be like this, I quit now.

I need a vacation……

Now, I’m a busy person who usually manages a busy daily schedule like most busy women…. living just one step above chaos.  But throw in a sinus headache and I’m useless.  (See, the only thing I can get done today is a blog!)  In my mind I have an invisible list of what needs to be done.  Even though it should be, cleaning my bathtub is never on the list.  It’s all about priorities.  Today, nothing is being accomplished.  I guess I work best under pressure, but that does NOT include sinus pressure. 

This is not a teeny weenie sinus headache with slight pressure in your eyebrows and under your eyes.  This is a professional-scale sinus headache where all your top teeth ache and it hurts every time you move your eyes.  So far, over the counter drugs are having no affect.  I’m ready for Rick’s after surgery pain killers….  not that I would ever do that because it’s against the law.  But when I’m under sinus pressure, the illegal becomes a logical step toward normalcy.

Anyway, there are things that still must be done… lesson planning, sewing by 7:00 tonight for Bags for Zaza and house straightening for class tomorrow.  Feeding the children didn’t even make the list tonight.  It’s a MUST DO list with no extras added. 

I hope, dear reader, you are having a stress-free and sinus-pressure-free day.  They are so much better than THIS nonsense.

?#12 from My Sister’s Jar – Family Dinner

What is one tradition you had growing up that you’d like to continue?

Family dinner around the table!  I have always loved this time together as a family.  I remember it vividly from my childhood…. If it was 6:00 p.m. you better be at the table!  We were always there Monday – Friday and sometimes on Saturday.  I recall having many visitors join our family dinners… and enjoy the conversation, the food and the fun as much as we did. 

There were rituals we could expect.  One was the answer to Dad’s question, “Guess what I had for lunch today?”  It was ALWAYS the exact menu that Mom was serving that night.  It didn’t happen too often, but the three of us kids thought it was funny.  It wasn’t a complaint, just a comical coincidence.  There was also the bowl of corn that was repeatedly discovered in the microwave after we finished eating.  And the day-old Twinkies with the black line across the box.  MMMmmmmmm.

There was much instruction given during dinner about appropriate behavior which became known as “vacation behavior.”  That was the utmost level of supreme obedience.  There was conservation topics covered, like the aforementioned toilet paper scrunching discussion, saving water, shorter showers, more wearing of jeans and less laundry loads. 

There weren’t many family dinners that I remember having to endure, except for the night my brother’s new two-tone blue, T-top Corvette got hit.  We all sat in silence pushing our food around our plates, too upset to eat.

I have vehemently guarded family dinner in our home, but much to my chagrin, it has not been as successful as I always imagined it would be.  Schedules seem to interfere…. hockey, work, church….    But I will continue to call the youngsters together with their mother and father and sit, pray, eat, laugh and just BE together around the family dinner table.  I believe it provides stability.  A safe place to belong.  Long live the family dinner table.