One of Those Days.

A few months ago, a friend from Northwestern was telling me about a dinner she had recently with some of our fellow dormmates. One of the women in the group had just told them she’d been feeling stressed. She talked through all the things on her mind as she was going through a period of introspection.

A quiet fell over the table, the mood vastly different than the care-free days of our undergrad years. Then another friend at the table broke the silence.

“So, this is it, huh? This is life.”

A few days later, on the phone, my friend marveled at how the sentiment had stuck with her. “I mean, that just sums it up, doesn’t it? It’s so true. This is it.”

Those words were echoing in my head today as hour by hour, the day unfolded with a series of “tilts,” as my mom used to call them. You think everything’s going smoothly, then… tilt. Too many tilts in a row and by dinnertime, you don’t know which way is up.

Here’s a brief rundown of my thoughts over the course of today, trying to keep my balance:

I overslept.
I’ve been tired all week.
My throat is still sore.
Good thing I’m working from home today.
Wow, Archie is in a great mood this morning.
I’m gonna snuggle with him before he goes to daycare.
I can’t wait to see him when he comes home.
I’m glad Alan is taking the garbage out.
They didn’t collect ours last week for some reason.
I’m glad the stinky trash will finally be out of the garage.
I’m glad the plumber fixed the shower faucet that was broken.
Wait, he changed the shower head.
This one’s not as good.
We need to buy a new shower head this weekend.
I have a lot of work to do.
I’m going to finish this one task.
Oh wait, I need to do this other task first.
My boss wants to do a call because our numbers don’t line up.
My coworker is frustrated because she just counted everything out.
Oh, wait.
They do line up.
I need to schedule some PTO.
I need to go grocery shopping.
I need to meal plan for the week.
I need to find recipes that Archie can eat.
Luckily, I have everything I need for shrimp curry tonight.
Archie can’t have shrimp, so I’ll buy ground chicken at the store.
I’m proud of myself because this recipe uses mostly things we already have.
Go, me.
All I needed was coconut milk, which I put on the list for Alan last weekend when he went shopping.
It’s nice that Alan went shopping.
Wow, these grocery bags are heavy.
Why did they put all the milks in one bag?
I’m sweaty because it’s so hot.
I’m sweaty because I’m too fat.
I need to lose weight.
I need to start meal planning foods that are healthier.
I’ll start that next week.
I need to unpack these groceries.
I need more space in the fridge.
Let me move this over here.
Shit! Did that jar have to fall and break?
Now I have to stop unpacking groceries and clean up the glass.
What’s that red spot on the floor?
Ouch, it’s blood.
Shit, I stepped on a piece of glass.
Now I have to wipe up that spot of blood.
Did I get every piece of glass?
I don’t want Archie to step in any.
Now the rest of the hot fudge in the jar is wasted because it might have glass in it.
Let me wash my hands.
Crap, the soap dispenser’s empty.
Let me use the one in the bathroom.
That one’s empty, too.
Stop and refill both soap dispensers now while you’re thinking of it.
Back to work.
I need to do Archie laundry.
He’s out of shorts.
Don’t forget to move the wet clothes to the dryer.
Back to work.
Misunderstanding on Skype.
I’m frustrated.
I say so.
I shouldn’t have said anything.
Skype is not a good place for arguments.
I feel bad.
I have to make dinner.
Where is the coconut milk?
I don’t see the coconut milk.
There’s no coconut milk.
I’ll make chicken tacos instead.
Alan and Archie are home!
I have dinner ready.
Alan is going to get the garbage can from the curb first.
I’ll wait to put the avocado on his tacos because I’m going to need to reheat them.
They still didn’t pick up the garbage.
We’re supposed to have a new approved roll cart.
They never told us that.
Today they didn’t pick up the trash again and instead put a flier on the bin.
So now we have another week of the stinky trash bin in the garage.
What the fuck.
Hey, where did you put the coconut milk?
He didn’t see coconut milk on the list.
Coconut milk was on the list.
I could have sworn coconut milk was on the list.
I was proud of myself because it was the only ingredient I needed.
But I improvised and made chicken tacos.
Archie can eat the chicken tacos!
Archie is spitting out the chicken.
Archie only wants refried beans.
Dinner’s over.
It’s time for Archie’s bath.
Alan’s taking him upstairs.
Total time with Archie today: 90 minutes
Crap, I forgot to move the wet clothes to the dryer.
I have to do these dishes.
I have to move the other dishes off the drying rack first.
What are they having at daycare for breakfast?
Blueberry muffins.
I need to make a batch of gluten-free, dairy-free blueberry muffins.
Now I have to do these dishes.
I still feel bad about the Skype argument.
Oh, I have to go to the sanitation department website.
They were supposed to deliver us a new roll cart in October.
What the fuck.
I’ll email them now but I should also call tomorrow.
This day has been sorta lousy.
I should write a blog post about it.
As soon as I finish this blog post, I’m going to have a brownie.

Well, you heard the good lady. Time to wrap this up.

So this is it, huh? This is life. Yep, guess so. I’m sure one day I’ll look back at this list and long for these problems. But for now, I’m going to power down, get some sleep, and approach tomorrow as a new day filled with possibilities. Specifically, the possibility that the Dekalb County of Sanitation will eventually get its goddamn act together. Because seriously, what the fuck.