Distraction

Excuses, excuses…the many roadblocks that stand in the way…  What I’m about to admit may be shocking, but I’ve been known to procrastinate until the very last minute.  Notice how this blog is posted twenty minutes late today?  Somehow the belief that “tomorrow, that’s the perfect time to begin…” has maintained throughout my life.  There are alligators in a moat with snapping teeth preventing me from approaching the front door.  This happened to be one of those alligator weeks, here’s why: 

1.)    Yard work.  Okay, the weather briefly shifted towards nice…80 something degrees, and the grass shot up within 4 days after mowing the last time.  Instead of walking on the treadmill, I pushed the mower around the property.  My eye for detail took over and every blade had to be in uniform with the next.  Translation: trimming the edges with the hedge clippers then hand pulling clusters of stubborn that refused to cooperate.  After, I was physically wiped out.  This was an accurate telling on just how out of shape I had become during the winter months. 

2.)    My dad’s ghost.  All right so you’re probably thinking that I’ve gone on a drinking binge or maybe I breathed in some hallucinogenic mushrooms as I was mowing the lawn, well maybe…but a few times as I was rounding the bend, I could swear that I caught a glimpse of my deceased father.  I know it seems impossible and maybe it’d be a good time to have my vision checked…that or perhaps I should no longer work in direct sunlight without the proper hydration, who knows?  With thoughts of my dad swirling about, writing this week’s blog was postponed.

3.)    A band concert.  My son plays the alto saxophone with the high school band.  Last evening we attended their annual spring concert which proved to be quite an occasion!  Those kids have tremendous talent…with great rhythm, perfect timing and plenty of heart.  After there was simply no time to pen anything…we were all riding a high from the tempo with an over-all “life is good” feeling.

4.)    A visit from my daughter.  My daughter drove in yesterday to attend the concert with us.  She arrived earlier in the day and we shopped…and shopped, and shopped.  By evening, there was no padding left in my shoes or cash in my wallet.  Who can possibly write a blog under such circumstances?   

5.)    My daughter returned back to her apartment near school.  Before she left, we had the car washed, shopped, went to lunch, stopped for coffee and then, bid farewell.  (As you can imagine, I was too worn out to write anything…nap time.  Can you hear the Z’s?)

6.)    …and then a new smart phone arrived in the mail.  Our cell phone carrier finally put their foot down explaining that my “old Betsy phone” was so obsolete that it was no longer usable on our network.  A mini-sim card and phone were delivered and as I opened the box, a time warp got the better of me!  How do I set this thing up?  What does this app do?  How do I turn the phone off?  Where is the program for simmering the stew?  Why is my calendar no longer working with this phone?  What ever happened to a simple keypad that all one must do is punch in some numbers?  I’m now stranded in “slide this-tap that, type, type, type except my fingers are too large for the glass screen.  Tip-type-trip-and blunder.  If there was a secret master control I’d end up teleporting to Mars or something by mistake…seriously…and then my phone rang and I couldn’t figure out how to answer.  Was that you? Hello?  I hope you’ll call back, I truly am sorry. 

7.)    House-sitting for a family member.  This involves driving to the countryside, collecting mail/newspaper, emptying de-humidifiers, walking the property to be certain all is as it should be, checking the house itself…then driving home once again.  I really don’t mind for it offers me a chance to collect my thoughts but I’m minus one hour out of my schedule each day until they return.  Is it possible to be two places at once? 

8.)    Balancing my checkbook.  Sometimes a person must be responsible.  Admittedly, we’ve been on a spending spree as of recent.  Home improvements, groceries and car maintenance, shopping with my daughter…tallying “after the fact” is my least favorite thing to do.  It’s a jury of numbers that concludes, “you spend too much and you need to stay at home more…save, save, save!”  If only I could avoid this sort of reckoning.  The bills would pile up...if only there was no such thing as balance.

9.)    The Oregon Trail.  I found myself stranded in chapter 34…with just a few more to go, just a few more!  I know it’s time to finally arrive in California…it’s time.  One word of caution though, if you read my next story; irony.  That was I had in mind when devising the plot of this particular story, or was it iron me?    

10.)    Finally….my biggest blunder of the week, getting hooked on a television series on Netflix.  When something strikes me as interesting, forget it!  That’s exactly what happened as I began viewing “Chasing Life” on Sunday.  The storyline that surrounded the main character facing cancer really struck a nerve.  I couldn’t afford the distraction and yet I couldn’t stop watching.  I needed to pull the plug…and yet…  You know me, I’m all about the complexities of relationships and the struggles we face everyday which was the premise of that series.

The truth is; time is running out for me to complete my manuscript.  My son will soon be underfoot for the summer and I need to have the rest of my book finished before this happens.  The biggest challenge will be in keeping the boy fed.  He’s approaching six ft tall and he’s been eating us out of house and home…oh yeah, groceries.  If only I could hire a personal shopper to keep the refrigerator stocked.  Oops that’s not in the cards so I’ve worn out a path between here and there.

That is my entire week of putting this blog off until tomorrow.  Alligators,  responsibility, chores, imagination, family, music, television, exhaustion, an inability to say no, shopping…and then of course my dog Monkeyshine ate my blog-homework, honest, she did!  Is that my phone ringing?  Until next time, have a great week!