One Friday Night: They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Sadly, I don’t have a picture, or a video which is what I really need to tell this story. My only prop is the English language. For some this would be enough. In this instance, I’m not sure I can pull it off, but I will do my best, because I just want to share it with you! I hope you’ll hang in with me.
BACKGROUND
Last week Scott and I ventured north to Charlottesville to visit my two sisters and their husbands. It was a trip we had planned to take for my birthday in August, then his in September but Covid and an array of interferences postponed it until now. When we got on the road Tuesday morning I was exhausted.
For weeks I’d been taking care of my 3 1/2 year old grandson one or two days a week requiring an hour drive each way in heavy traffic. The days were usually long and I naturally ran my butt off trying to keep up with Emmett’s engaging and joyful nature. Have I told you how much I adore this child? Probably. I already have more than enough on my plate, but I can’t say no to time with Emmett.
The 3 1/2 hour drive to Charlottesville was a beautiful one, but a heavy fatigue lay over me and took away some of the enjoyment. The leaves were peak, the skies gray. I perked up the next day after a good night sleep and adrenaline kicked in. With so many good cooks in the family (minus me) we spent most of our time navigating between houses, hotel and meals. We had a wonderful time and it went by too fast.
When we finally got home Thursday night the adrenaline began to dissipate and a new level of fatigue settled in. I honestly didn’t know what the heck I was doing, but I kept moving, unpacking, etc.
FRIDAY
The next day, neither Scott or I had any idea what day it was. I was sure it was Sunday. Scott was convinced it was Saturday. To help straighten out our muddled minds we jumped into our favorite tradition – Friday night with home made pizza night, a glass of wine and Brooks & Capeheart (still missing Shields).
Scott makes a mean pizza — the best ever — and I was seriously looking forward to it. He made it with a BOBOLI thin crust, pizza sauce, tomato slices, feta cheese and arugula and his famous selection of spices. Yum!
As he pulled the piping hot pizza out of the oven and began slicing it, I scurried around setting up the TV trays, putting out napkins and pouring the wine. Just as I was ready to sit down, I remembered he’d asked for salt, so I put my pizza on the seat of my recliner, ran to the kitchen, nabbed the salt and headed back, eager to get back to my pizza!
Right before I returned to my chair I remembered I hadn’t turned on the TV, so grabbed the remote, pushed the “on” button and sat down to dial in the channel. Quickly my mind tuned to another dilemma, a very strange sensation! Like what?? What was it?? Had I sat down on tiny pins? It hit my dull mind with the force of a slammed door and I jumped up, just as a searing hot cramp in the back of my thigh pre-empted eradicated the pin pricks in my butt. I was shrieking and jumping up and down. Scott was shouting, “what?? what??? what????”
LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE
Tears of laughter streamed down my face as I began to imagine what I looked like, frantically hopping on one foot trying to get my jeans off, holding the plate with my pizza in one hand and balance on the arm of the chair with the other.
As soon as Scott caught on to what was happening, he first started shouting instructions then came gales of laughter.
I finally got into some clean clothes while he attempted to revive the pizza. I was not, however, going to eat pizza I’d sat on. Fortunately, there were two good pieces left. We would just not have any left overs.
That Friday night, the wine was the best part!
Sue and Carolyn
Oh, Dorothy, I am so glad you and Scott could laugh about this! What a shock to realize you had sat on your dinner! I find that when I am not feeling 100% because I’m tired or distracted by something I do the silliest things. I have dropped a full plate of food that I had spent a considerable amount of time preparing. With no one else around, I just laughed out loud at myself and chalked it up to a good exercise in not taking myself too seriously.
I am fortunate to be married to a man who enjoys laughing. I have learned to laugh at myself from him and it gets us through some rigorous challenges! We recently bought him a rollator with a seat so that can be converted to a push chair. We took it to the beach with us this summer when we went with my son for an overnight. We were one row back from the ocean front and it was too far for him to walk. So I attempted to push him. Trust me, this is not as easy to do as he likes to think it is! But, at any rate, I was going along when really quite suddenly and unexpectedly I hit a bump and dumped him out of the thing! I was horrified! He was hysterical laughing! even while crawling around trying to find somewhere to position himself so he could stand. He thought it was so funny he has to share this story with everyone. I’m just grateful he wasn’t hurt, but trust me, I’m not eager to try it again! Saving up for a motorized scooter.
Making lemonade is the sign of heathy minds and a delightful marriage! Just a lovely story and a great lesson in handling those little irritating complexities that life inevitably throws at us! Thank you for that and the smile on my face after a day of frustration! ❤️🥰
I will think of you when I eat pizza and will enjoy a giggle in your honor! Love the garden and fairy pictures. Looks like a nice get away and a happy group around the table. Stay well.
Thanks, Judy! Age can create some sort of miracles in families – some for the better and some not. The six of us get along really well now and my sisters and their husbands are currently a tremendous support for Scott & I. I am so very grateful. It was not always so!
Very funny and so well written! I must add that for many years I too have made pizza on Fridays nights AND watched Brooks & Capeheart (and also really miss Mark Shields, although I love Jonathan as well)! Thanks for this amusing and fun story, Dorothy!
How fun! Oh, I love Jonathan Capeheart too! He’s a delight, so very bright and incisive. I love watching his face, catching his expressions, and his energy is contagious.
😁