I washed the dogs. Same day as I posted I wouldn't. Humidity is high, and it's been six hours. They still smell like (clean) wet dogs.
I revise productive procrastination to add whining...Productive Procrastinatin and Whining. The whining did the trick, and suddenly, I couldn't stand it anymore. The floor, the dogs, myself, my clothes and three towels are now cleaner or in process.
Or maybe? Maybe all these tasks triggered the dreaded "Cleaning Switch" where in my youth I would end up cleaning for 8-10 hours straight and toothbrushing the grout. This always has been unusual behavior for me, but especially predictable in spring.
So I left wet dogs, picked up my granddaughter, came home, planted my veggies in the back yard, watered, swept the front porch for the first time in ages, put two sacks of clutter in the trash bin,swept detritus off my walk, tried to comb two wiggly dogs, and rearranged said porch. Towels and my clothes are still drying.
What's the point, you say? This is abnormal behavior for me for years now. Why? Because between my calcified knees and my back, I flat couldn't do it. Oh yeah. I could do some of this activity over a week. One day? And yet, for most readers, this is so ordinary. Is this my new ordinary? I hope so.
I cheated. Used the kitchen sink with the handheld spray. Got it doggie warm and both dogs tolerated with much splashing. This means my upper body strength has returned to picking up 30-plus pounds of squirmy dog. Oh. When I showered, I mopped the bathroom anyway since I had thought I would have to. And I sanitized the kitchen sink. Repotted the fern over the sink Gracie somehow (ha) dislodged.
Forgot those parts.
Was it the explosion of activity to avoid a hated task that set off all this productivity? Possibly. I got a good night's sleep last night. Maybe I just felt up to it. Maybe both. Maybe my hidden regimen of vitamins and continued exercise. Right now, I'm pretty much letting the gardening take care of that.
Oh! I feel sore. and productive. and hopeful about the outcome of what I am producing. Flowers to smile at. Vegetables to eat. Two dogs to reward for their ever increasing politeness as I learn how to bring it forth. Continued amity with my family.
I think this is a time when women again will have to work hard for rights which to me seem to be assailed again. According to what I've read, it happens every other generation. So, peace. I really did have to push for my job in the 1960's. And I was lucky. Five months out of college, I found a job for 14 years. I hope so for the future, for my bright and independent granddaughters who have so much to offer....
What a todo I am making out of washing two knee-high dogs,and the work around it.
But isn't it nice to have a day you are satisfied with?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
My husband had a day like that recently. It was so amazing to see the "spring cleaning" thing come over a man! I peeked out from my easy chair from time to time and, yep, he was still clearing the garage, rearranging the living room, hauling out the rugs so we could feel cool tile underfoot in the coming hot weather, climbing ladders to deal with the swamp cooler, etc. etc.
I, on the other hand, was slaving away at my self-imposed list: Turn a heel on the current sock knitting project, read 50 pages of a mystery, then shift from easy chair to patio and do it all over again. It was a great turnabout from the usual that we had going on!
So glad that you are feeling good and energized, Charlotte, and that you are discovering the good manners of your pups.
Many thanks. I have such plans for those tomatoes and peppers! I planted the onions in the front flowerbed between the rows of monkey grass. Meanwhile, I need to mop and vacuum again--I keep seeing these sunny patches, I hope, on the hardwood floors only to realize it's another Corgi bunny Gracie has shed.
Post a Comment