A Moment in My Life – Monday, October 5, 2020
“I’m going to take today off,” I said on Friday morning. Yep, that’s what I’ll do after I get off work at noon. I eagerly worked on my daily column anticipating the day off, and finished writing about noon. My plan was off to a good start just as soon as I run my errands and drop off some cookies at a friend’s house. Once that’s done, I’ll begin my day off.
I can begin my day off after I put away the groceries. I better call Dad first, then I could relax and enjoy my day off. Oh wait, I better get my daily walking out of the way first before the day gets away from me so that I could check that off the list. Okay, now I’m ready to start my day off. Maybe I’ll fold all the towels first and put them away; then I can relax and enjoy myself. Oh, look at the time, I better have dinner. It’s getting late. Good thing I have leftovers and won’t need to cook.
Alas, time to veg in front of the TV. Maybe, I can vacuum seal the blankets and pillows while I watch TV, then I’ll have less to do tomorrow. The guest bed will be cleared, and all I have to do is put the guest bed back together, and the work will be done. Vacuum sealing the bags should be a quick task. Nice. The vacuum seal kit comes with its vacuum. I love this kit. It works so well! Ugh! This vacuum works only on their bags. Who said it would be a quick task? It would have been if the sealing was behaving. Why do the vendors have to make it proprietary? Now, I have to get the vacuum cleaner out to finish off the job. Okay, I built up a sweat, but I got all the blankets and pillows sealed for the next time company comes. Oh, look at the time—bedtime. Oh well, tomorrow is Saturday, I’ll take tomorrow off instead.
It’s Saturday morning, and it’s my day off. I’m so excited! Before I take the day off, I will write a letter to my friend and get it in today’s mail. Afterward, I will return the two folding beds I borrowed for my family’s visit. After I drive them back to my friend’s house in Foster City, I’ll start my day off. It’s a gorgeous day for a drive and an opportunity to give my car battery a good charge, too. Nice to kill two birds with one stone. Oh, the gardener is coming to check the irrigation. That’s fine. It’s just a hiccup in my plans.
Rats. Look at the time. I better have lunch and print out all the emails to read over before my 2:00 Zoom call. Ugh. There are six emails with PDFs to read! No problem—I’ll begin my day off after the meeting. Wow, the meeting took two and a half hours! Dad’s having dinner now, so I’ll get my daily walking in before I call Dad, then I will settle down to my day off. Dad’s not answering. He must have gone to bed. Oh, look at the time, I better have dinner before I do anything else. Oh rats, I plum forgot to put the guest bed back together. Let me do that and get that out of the way. Well, the day got away from me, but I got a lot done, just not the initial plan. No worries, tomorrow is another day. I’ll take tomorrow off instead.
It’s Sunday! After virtual church, I’ll take the rest of the day off. Oh, right, there’s a church meeting after the service. No problem. I’ll begin my day off after that. I better do a laundry load before church and get that done while I do my morning writing. In that way, I can launder the new sleepwear that I bought from Kohls. Oh dear, look at the pilling from the seams! I didn’t expect the seams to fall apart after one washing. Ugh. Good thing I laundered the new items now. I can return them before I tossed the tags. I’ll need to get the price tags paired back to each item and get them ready to return. What a task that was! They don’t make it logical or easy to figure out which tag goes with which piece, do they? Finally, done. I can begin my day off now.
I’m planning on a wellness program for myself to reduce a few pounds during this month. Before I do anything else, I will check with my family if they want to join me. Oh, they do want to join. Nice, but they’re asking how we’ll do this. Okay, since I came up with this brilliant idea, I better create a plan. Once I’m done with the plan, then I’ll start my day off. Plan done. My family likes my writeup. They think it’s a realistic and obtainable action plan, and we are doing the challenge together. I’m so excited!
Oh dear, the day is slipping by me, but I’ll get my daily walk in and call Dad, and then I’ll heat dinner, and afterward, I’ll veg in front of the TV and start my day off.
After all that, would you believe me if I told you that I got to enjoy two movies before bedtime on Sunday night? I watched Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Jack Reacher. It was a long road to my day off, and it may not have been a day off, but an evening off is better than nothing at all. It was enjoyable and worth the wait.
Afternote:
Unbeknownst to me, this morning, I would get a text from my BFF, Iggy, aka Gail Igawa, asking if I was comfortable with getting together for an outdoor lunch today, followed by an errand run with her. She took today off, and I am honored that she chose me to hang out with. I know she takes all the proper social distancing protocols seriously at all times like I do, putting any concerns I might have at ease. I planned on running errands after work anyway, and since we both have Costco on the list, it was a no brainer to say yes.
We took a chance on Jack’s in San Bruno, hoping they might have outdoor seating, and they did. We selected the table farthest away from other patrons, and we had an enjoyable lunch catching up. There is no comparison to a face-to-face date. I’ve missed Iggy so much, and even though we wore our masks the whole time except for when we ate, it was still so much nicer being together again.
After lunch, we started our errand run with Lowes first before heading to Kohl’s and concluding with Costco. I couldn’t ask for a better time spent with one of my favorite people in the world, and she chauffeured me around and then bought me lunch, too. Whether she knew it or not, when Iggy invited me to share her day off, she inadvertently helped me successfully take my day off that I’ve been trying all weekend to accomplish. That’s my Iggy! Since she came into my life, she has been nothing but a blessing to me. Now, I can say that I took today off, and I’m smiling from ear-to-ear because of it. Okay, Iggy, what’s for lunch tomorrow?
