Thursday, January 29, 2009

A Day in the Life

Today was just a regular ordinary day for me. I awoke at 6:30, went down the cellar and loaded the wood stove. After burning all night there were some live coals left to reignite and rekindle the wood.This is not my usual job but my husband was away on business and so it became my job. Then I went back upstairs took a shower, blow dried my hair and got dressed. It had snowed more over night so it was necessary to put my boots and snow pants on and shovel the walkway and a path to the garage.I was worried that since my husband wasn't home to snow blow the driveway that I might get my Jeep stuck in the 8-10 inches of snow despite having four wheel drive.(I had already shoveled the day before just to get ahead of the game but then it snowed another few inches overnight. My nose was running and I didn't have a kleenex so I had to wipe my nose on the sleeve of my LL Bean anorak. By 8:30 I was pretty tired from all the snow shoveling and I had a 9:15 dentist appointment so I was very conscious of the time. I changed out of my snow shoveling clothes and put my work clothes back on.

I was able to make a quick cup of tea and eat a piece of corn bread while simultaneously packing a quickie lunch. I had to brush my teeth for the second time before I left the house because it's not nice to show up at the dentist with food bits in your teeth.

I was a little worried about backing out of the garage and making it down the long driveway with 8 inches of snow so I had my four wheel drive in gear and kept enough speed and momentum so that I wouldn't get stuck which has happened to me before. The roads had been plowed and they were clear of any substantial snow however the side roads were plowed but still slightly snow covered. I had to put the Jeep back in four wheel drive on the side street of my dentist's office.The parking lot was plowed with no problems with parking. It was about 13 degrees out so I had my long coat on but didn't wear a hat because I didn't want to look like I had hat head.

The dentist's office is a friendly place and I was greeted by my first name and told my dental hygienist would be right out to get me. I was there to get my teeth cleaned for my 6 month visit so it was fairly routine.My dental hygienist has a thing for cats and her whole exam room is adorned with cat posters and cat memorabilia.She also has dozens of tooth nicknaks and posters of teeth and dental care tips. I got to pick mint flavor as my choice for the stuff they clean your teeth with.We had quite a chat about the weather which is the usual topic of conversation during our snowy cold winters. I kept my eyes gazing at one of the cat posters which displayed 100 cats and a mouse and picked my favorite one and we talked about some of the other cute cats. While lieing in the reclined chair I began to notice my sore muscles from all the snow shoveling and then I told her about it all and then we talked about how I didn't know how to operate our snow blower at home and my husband being away.

The dentist comes in to check your teeth after they have been cleaned and she told me I had a few suspicious spots and would need to come back for some small fillings. I have had the misfortune of having rather cavity prone teeth my whole life and commented I should be Mrs. Dental Queen USA. My dental insurance sucks so I had to pay the difference between what they charge and what my insurance pays so I wrote a check.They gave me a follow up appointment to come back in a few weeks.

I had a quick errand to run and brought my blazer in to the dry cleaners to drop off. Then I decided to stop at Walmart because I drive past it on my way to work. Many of my co-workers are anti Walmart because of the wages and lack of health insurance afforded their workers by keeping most of them at part-time.I was in the mood to look at bras and decided to buy two. I also saw some loungey type sweat pants that I like to wear around the house so I bought a blue pair and a matching long sleeve T.

I had killed enough time by then and decided I better show up at work. It was 11:30 and I managed to get down the hallway and unlock my office door unnoticed. I checked in with the receptionist that I was there and then picked up stuff out of my mail box and returned to my office and shut my door so I could get some work done before anyone realized I was in. I decided to work thru lunch since I had been gone all morning and there is always paper work hanging over all our heads so I could get some done before my first appointment for the afternoon. In between I encountered a coworker who had to vent about a meeting the previous day that did not go well for her and I offered my sympathies. We often commiserate about a director-psychiatrist who is very difficult to deal with and has to be in control. I was able to eat a few crackers and cheese and some grapes before I saw my first client.

My afternoon consisted of seeing 3 back to back clients in a row but it wasn't too bad because it had been a short day for me but I was physically tired from all the snow shoveling and wrestling large chunks of wood in to the wood stove that morning. It started to snow again as I looked out the window and thought to myself "oh shit, another white knuckle drive home on snowy roads".It turned out to be okay .The roads weren't too bad and I was able to drive 50 miles an hour on the road home which is about a 16 mile trip.

Here comes the nice part. My husband saw me pull in the driveway and stood out on the front porch to greet me and gave me a big hug and kiss and told me he had missed me. I told him about having to shovel snow and load the wood stove and thanked him for all he does as part of his routine and how it made me appreciate all the things he does to keep the house going. He also told me I had done a good job keeping things going while he was away. He told me all about his trip while I cooked dinner and he told me he was glad to be home since he loves my food. We had chicken with apricot preserve as a marinade sauce, brown rice (he's not a big fan,can't convince him that white rice isn't good for you ), and broccoli, he will only eat the heads.

I am going to bed now after I type this post because I am really tired from all the physical activity which I am not really used to. I will be more assertive about him teaching me how to use the snow blower.

Tomorrow is another day.

3 comments:

underOvr (aka The U) said...

GAF85,

Be assertive and find out how to operate the snow blower. If you put it off until the next time Mr. GAF85 is out of town go to the website of the manufacturer and download the operating instructions for that model. If you still have muscle soreness, make an appointment for a massage. It's relaxing and therapeutic.

Living in Virginia and dealing with winter is nothing like Chicago winters. They "freak out at the hint of possible snow! They close schools and businesses; giving the term "Snow Day" a whole new twist.

They couldn't adopt that philosophy in places like Chicago or where you live unless everyone's went insane.

Hope the rest allows you to feel better.

underOvr

Madame DeFarge said...

I am keen to know more about this snow blower. Not something I need in deepest London, so all sounds very intriging. And so much snow! We complain about a dusting and it's all over the news. This sounds proper grown-up snow!

gaf85 said...

U, Yes a massage would definitely be a wonderful idea! I have explained to my husband the necessity of learning how to operate the snow blower.Frankly I am looking forward to "hurry up spring".

Madame, A snow blower kind of looks like a large lawn mower with a revolving blade underneath that catches the snow and then shoots it off to the side. You walk behind it and steer similar to a lawn mower.