Ah, Wednesday- my mid-week day off... but not really a "day off." Sure, I get to meet my girlfriend for breakfast and maybe do some shopping, but it's really a day that I can use to catch up on the mundane household tasks of vacuuming, dusting, etc., etc. Not too exciting.
By way of introduction, my name is Kelley and I am a 50-something year-old married mother of one who works as a part time administrative assistant.
This day starts out with breakfast Gillian's Diner with my friend, Marge. She's a bit late as usual and while I sit idly waiting for her to arrive, I think over my plans for the rest of the day:
I have my normal housework to do and I want to get the mowing done before the day turns too hot for outside work. Late July in eastern Ohio can be a real scorcher. In my mind, I tick off the to-do items and try to figure out what time I'll be done so I can relax in the air-conditioned comfort of our small, suburban ranch home.
As Marge pulls into the parking lot and angles toward the first available space, I guess that I'll have about two hours after I finished my work before I need to start making supper for my husband, Dan.
Dan's schedule is rather predictable when he's in the office- off in the morning at 7:30 and home at 5 pm. Field work is a different story with widely variable hours, but today Dan is in the office, so I'll see him pull in the drive on his motorcycle at 5- give or take.
Marge bustles into the diner and we greet with a sisterly hug and are ushered to a table. Breakfast at Gillian's is always a treat, with good home-style food served piping hot and some of the best coffee around.
After ordering cream dried beef on home fries, our conversation winds around our lives and families- particularly focusing on our grown children... the topics typical for women in their 50s. Marge has three kids, two married and out on their own and one (the eldest) still at home. Dan and I have been blessed with just one, a son who serves proudly in the military.
Although I have known Marge and her children for more than 25 years, she tends to recount their various life situations each time we're together. By now it's just review for me.
Today, while Marge goes over her kids' goings-on, my mind drifts to thoughts of my husband. Even after more than 30 years of marriage, I love Dan more that I can express and look forward to every moment I spend with him.
On top of that, the sight of him still makes me tingle inside. Not that he's some super-handsome hunk, no, Dan is a 56-year-old man in reasonably good shape with thinning and graying hair and decidedly average looks.
He's average in pretty much every way, except for two notable areas: his intellect- he's really smart, and his sex drive- he seems to be horny all the time! What makes me tingle is not what's on the outside, but what's on the inside- his inside, and the fact that he's my man and I love him with my undying love.
As Marge drones on this morning, I respond with "uh-huh" and "yeah" at the appropriate time, while my mind was busily calculating my day.
In the middle of my mental multi-tasking my brain suddenly latches onto the realization that, if I work out my routine efficiently, I'd have more than enough time to relax, primp a little, and take a bubble bath before Dan comes through the door at 5.
That way I could surprise him with something far more delicious and appetizing, to both of us, than a home-cooked meal. Secretly, I am planning an
ambush
!
With my mind wrapped around my new-found goal for the day, it isn't long before Marge notices that I disengaged from the conversation. She asks, "Is something bothering you, Kelley?"
"No, not really. I just have a few things I want to get done today and they keep popping into my mind. Sorry if I seem distant, Marge, it's not intentional," I reply. A bit of a dodge, but none of it untrue.
As we finish our breakfast, we agree to meet again next week, same time and place. Marge picks up the tab and says, "Let me get this- Dan made that photo disk of Amanda and he wouldn't let me pay him for it. This is the least I can do."
"OK," I respond, "but I'm leaving the tip," as I tuck three one-dollar bills under my empty coffee cup and step away from the table.
While Marge pays with her credit card at the cash register, I idly observe that nearly all the patrons in Gillian's on a weekday morning have gray hair and seem in no hurry to do anything- obviously a favorite spot for retirees. My mind wanders to the plans Dan and I have for retirement and then wonder if we'll look just like these folks someday.
With, "You better get on with all these things you have to do today," Marge snaps me back to the present. We share another sisterly hug and I step outside to feel the beginnings of the day's heat.
On the three-mile drive home, I think about my plans for later in the day and squirm a little in the seat. Whenever I "cook" up a sensual encounter between Dan and me, I always heat up a little with the anticipation.
"Keep your head on straight," my inner voice tells me, "You've got a lot to get done today and you can't let yourself get sidetracked." That voice in my brain can be a real kill-joy at times.
As soon as I've backed the car into the garage and stepped from the garage to the kitchen, I'm accosted by my "starving" cat loudly demanding her noon feeding more than two hours early. I think, "If I feed her now, maybe she'll stay out of my 'hair' while I get my to-do list done." A couple forkfuls of Fancy Feast later and she is hurriedly and happily eating.
I check email, tidy the cat litter box, put a load of laundry in the washer, and then check the mail. Seeing nothing that needs immediate attention in the mail, I stack it neatly on the counter and straighten the nearby clutter.
I walk to the bedroom and quickly change into my yardwork shorts and tee-shirt. While changing, my thoughts drift to my plans for "the ambush." I snap myself back to the tasks that I must accomplish first with a silent reminder- "Focus, Kelley, focus."
After changing, I am off to the lawn shed to attack the yard with our (actually- my) riding mower. Dan bought the rider at my request, since I said I would do the mowing if I could ride rather than push. That way, there'd be less for him to do. I keep my end of the bargain, while he maintains the mower and counts himself a lucky man!