Slow Days

I’ve often wondered if everyone has days when they just can’t seem to get anything done. Maybe I’m the only one, but I have had so many of those days that I don’t think I can even count them all. On these days no matter how hard I try to get going, I can’t seem to get my body to move any faster than a sloth. I aimlessly meander around my kitchen looking at all the dirty dishes on the table, counter, sink, and every other nook and cranny, I go into the laundry room to observe the Mount Everest like pile of clothes in the hamper, then attempt to make my way into the kids’ room but quickly turn around because there are so many toys on the floor that the door is barricaded. So I stand in the hall for a second and then go right back downstairs to get a chocolate. The little mini Milky Way or Snickers usually gets me going for a short time, but often, I find myself staring blankly out the window five minutes later. For some reason on these days, my subconscious must tell me that I have all the time in the world and that everything can wait.

One day in particular stands out above all the rest. I spent the morning doing who-knows-what and by two o’clock or so I realized that I should probably start getting ready for the day. The house was a disaster and we had guests coming the following morning. We had a costume party to go to by 4:00 that evening, none of us had any costumes, and I hadn’t even showered. By 3:00 the only thing I had done was decide what costumes we should wear and added a few dishes to the dishwasher. I got the kids shoes on and got ready to go to the store to actually purchase the costumes. The store was a fairly short distance so I had the idea to walk, instead of taking the car, to be a good citizen and save the air. I looked at my watch and saw that it was 3:15 and thought that I might be cutting it close if we walked. Looking back on it several days later I realized that it probably would have taken us until 4 just to walk to the store, let alone find costumes, walk back home, get the kids ready, take a shower, style my hair, and make dinner. By 3:45 we were finishing up at the store and my phone rang. Kasey was calling wondering where we could possibly be. He had made it home from work and was at the house waiting to leave for the party. At that point my brain finally turned back on and I realized how late it was. I grabbed the last few items, shoved the kids in the car, went 20 mph over the speed limit all the way home, ran inside, jumped in the shower, threw my hair in a pony soaking wet, and costumed the kids as fast as I could. While I was running around the house Kasey approached me and gently asked me what the heck I had been doing all day. All I could do was shake my head and say, “I have no idea!” Luckily once my mind started functioning again it only took me a half hour to do all the essential tasks and we were on the road by 4:15.