Saturday 18 January 2014

Some Assembly Required


The pantry I recently purchased came unassembled in a large cardboard box. Even if the store had given me some assistance with it to the car, there would have been the challenge of getting it from the car into my place, in addition to putting it together.

So I asked a very big favour of my son, to get it, put it together, and deliver it to me. He’s become my go-to guy for anything that requires strength and manual dexterity.

I’m his mother, would he say no to me? I admit I have and unfair advantage.

Wednesday morning he delivered the pantry, and finished it by adding the doors and handles. I made the donut muffins mentioned in a previous blog and a fresh pot of coffee in anticipation. Not only was I getting my pantry, but I had the pleasure of a visit from he and his significant other.

A win-win situation for me. Not so positive for him as he was on night shift and needed to get home for some much needed sleep after being up all night.

After they were gone, I spent the remainder of the day in cleanup mode. I put things away in the pantry, dusted, and did my dishes.
 
I have a small table that I use for crafts and sewing, and I’ve not seen the top of it since I moved. It has collected all the stuff I had no room for anywhere else, other than to stuff closets to overflowing. There was yarn, fabric for quilts, supplies for Christmas gifts I never found the time or energy to complete, and a slew of other ‘homeless’ objects.

I’d hoped to finish the cleanup on Thursday but woke to such back pain I took to my bed and fell asleep on the heating pad. No worry, it has an automatic shut off.

I wasn’t much better a few hours later, so I took some Advil and sat in my chair, OBUS form at my back, my feet up and coffee at hand. I called a friend and we talked for hours. Nothing like an interesting conversation to take my mind off the pain.

Later, I was moving around better, but not wanting to test the fates, left the rest of the cleanup for another day.

My heartfelt thanks to my son for getting the pantry, putting it together and delivering it. It’s exactly what I wanted, and what I needed. The donut muffins were a small payment for all his efforts.

And thanks to my friend for the conversation. She’s a fellow writer (check her out at http://www.randomwriterlythoughts.blogspot.com ). I always feel in a writing mood after we talk.

So my daughter can blame her for Thursday’s blog. Anyway, the day may have had a rough beginning, but all’s well that ends well.

PS
 
As I was writing this I see my curio cabinet, full of my angel collection, and remember. When I saw my son pull in Wednesday morning, I moved the curio cabinet to another wall, making space for the pantry. I did that back and forth shimmy, sliding it across the wood floor, around the corner and to another wall.

What a dumb ass I can be. And I was wondering why my back hurt the next day.

You know those old sayings about ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, or ‘you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink’? I think both apply.

What can I say; I’m a stubborn old fool who clings to her independence. The learned ability to ask and receive help is still a work in progress, but I’m getting better.

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