Each morning, the first thing I do after letting the dog out and feeding the cat is make coffee. Every morning for the past 20 years we have lived in this house I have had pretty much the same routine, plus or minus an animal friend; Roll out of bed. Stumble around an excited dog who exits through the back kitchen door. Trip around a hungry, foot rubbing cat that I feed in the kitchen hall. MAKE COFFEE.
Shortly after I get the pot brewing the husband comes down ready for work. I make him toast and an egg (you know you have to feed those men EVERY morning, they work hard...don't forget) and send him out the door.
So this is where my morning routine takes an unexpected turn. It's a bit of a mystery so stay with me. I even have it solved by the end...
As I said, every morning, same routine. Roll. Stumble. Dog. Trip. Cat. COFFEE. Husband (toast and egg). Door. Done.
About 3 weeks ago I reached step 7 of the morning ritual (that would be husband's toast and egg for those of you who don't want to do the math). I went to push the toast down but it kept popping back up. Press~boing, press~boing. Well, that only happens when the toaster is unplugged. I checked and lo and behold yes, the toaster was unplugged. I easily remedied the situation, proceeded to make the toast and egg and sent happy hubby out the door giving the unusual occurrence nary another thought.
The reason this became blogworthy is that it happened again. And again. And again for several weeks. About day 5 or 6 I began to give it a bit more thought as it was becoming quite disconcerting. As I said, same routine for years. At my age these disruptions can be frustrating.
After some analyzing I decided that my daughter was responsible. Sometimes when she is doing the evening dishes, she'll bring her c.d. player into the kitchen to play audio books or music while she's working. She would have to use the toaster outlet to plug in. Whew, mystery solved.
That kept me satisfied for several more days until out of the blue it hit me. Erin only does the evening dishes a few times a week. This plug thing has been happening every morning! Back to the drawing board.
Long story short, I kind of got used to this new routine, which means I'm giving it less and less thought. Roll. Stumble. Dog. Trip. Cat. COFFEE. Husband (plug in toaster, toast and egg). Door. Done. You can see for yourself that it is just a minor adjustment...
I really am getting to the end now.
So, about 5 days ago, I am at step 6 (coffee) when I am lambasted with the scary truth of what has been happening. I filled the coffee pot with water, plugged in the coffee grinder, oops, I missed a step. First I had to unplug the toaster to plug in the grinder...
...I just gave you a pause so it could sink in for you like it did me. I, unplugged the toaster. I, did it. Every morning for years. How is it that suddenly it seemed wrong I was having to plug it back in? How is it that I could spend literally weeks trying to solve a mystery that was no mystery at all?
And that dear friends is the state of mind that you have been visiting. I don't mean to scare my young friends, but I'm hoping that I can get some support from my pre and post menopausal sisters out there. Be kind. I'm a bit off and I don't know how I might handle what else you might share. It's a scary world I am entering.
This world is not my home.
This world is not my home.
This world is not my home.
Come Lord Jesus, Come.
Bslgensis, Debbie
Hehehe! Welcome to the 'the club', Debbie.
ReplyDeleteHugs Maa
Yep, definitely a big welcome to the club! Wait till you go to a room and forget why and what you needed or to the shops and can't remember what was on your list or the big one...birth dates...that's why the birthday book was invented...for us menopausal women with lot's of things on our minds!
ReplyDeleteBig Hugs((())) It's fine - really. Your mind is too filled up with creative things now. You are becoming.
ReplyDeletexxx
It IS a scary world you're entering, my friend! I've lived here a few years myself. I ought to know.
ReplyDeleteDebbie, just embrace this new stage you are entering with open arms. I like to think that it just keeps life from getting boring and each day is a new adventure. Just remember, we are all there with you!(( Hugs to you.))xx
ReplyDeleteI giggled.. but I would have reacted the same way (and I have in the past when something gets unplugged and I don't know why or when or who).
ReplyDeleteOh, dear.
ReplyDeleteI am getting to be that age, but the only thing I seem to be experiencing is my mind going blank when I am looking for a specific word. Drives me crazy!
Glad you solved the mystery.
Deanna
Welcome to the club my friend, you are in good company.
ReplyDeleteI will go into my pantry or upsatairs to get something then once there wonder what it was I had gone to get. :))
Even names escape me at times.
Keep a sense of humor and remember you are not alone in this.(((Hugs)))
I express welcome again from The Club. hee hee. My goodness the synapses just DON'T work like they used to!! We are all in the crazy together. {hugs} and blessings ~ tanna
ReplyDeleteBTW, LOVED your post. Your writing was brilliant. So, take that to your peri-menopausal bank!
Ha! It's a new world Debbie! I forewarn you there will be days that you'll look in the mirror and see your grandmother looking back, and no assurance from your friends will convince you that you don't look like an old lady. I'm reading a funny book about this stage in life by Nora Ephron called I Feel Bad About My Neck. The title says it all. Aging aint for sissies!
ReplyDeleteHmm, I must be your soul sister because I have found myself questioning "did I always do that?" You have a wonderful sense of humor which I greatly enjoy :)
ReplyDeleteSo when I am looking for the ringing phone and find it in the fridge, I can console myself that I am in good company and not really losing my mind!!!
ReplyDeleteDebbie, all I can say is it is normal for this stage of life for us ladies! My new thing is I hate to look in the mirror, I feel like Chicken Little, only it is not the sky that has fallen but my face! (and other parts but we won't go there!) Keep the faith! xo,
ReplyDeleteI'm with Tanna -- your writing IS brilliant (even if your memory is foggy). :) And I'll have to pick up that Nora Ephron book 'cause I am definitely not feeling good about my neck. Oh, and no, it's not my grandma looking me in the eye when I check myself in the mirror -- it's my DAD. Explanation, anyone??
ReplyDeleteIndeed, welcome to the club. We're really a very loving and welcoming group (misery loves company...just kidding). While we all have these crazy aging symptoms to deal with, let us remember that the Lord has given us wisdom to share as we navigate these years!
Blessings, ~Lisa
LOL, I swear I must do thing kind of thing like very week. My girls are constantly worrying about me and telling I will die if they are not here to save me from myself xoxo CLarice
ReplyDeleteThat is the same thing going on with me today. Only I always stumble in and start a load of laundry and fix my husband lunch.
ReplyDeleteToday, it never crossed my mind. Not once,
It is darn right scary this time of life sometimes.
Have a great day in spite of it. :)
Ha! Good for you! Join the team - of forgetting to plug in the rice steamer - of forgetting to put water in the steamer and turning it on (this has routinely made dinner late and/or impossible to be on the table for husband's homecoming at 6pm) or forgetting to plug in the water boiler then being angry that it is taking too long for my tea - and the list goes on!! Embrace it - and move forward - tis a life well lived - and a chuckle to start your day!
ReplyDeleteJoy!
Kathy
Hey Deb - looks like we may have been simultaneously comments - I just saw your comment on my news - so sweet! Thanks - but it is much fear and trepidation that I make such a major career change - from freelance to they own me! Scary. God has made the way, though, and I shall walk in it - and trust Him for each step and the grace to weather what may. Teaching in the school is very different from ministering to all those sweet little ones with attentive parents - whole different animal! But, I'm employing Charlotte Mason techniques along with my homeschool background outlook and Christian worldview. Pray for me when you think about it.
ReplyDeleteJoy!
Kathy
OH mercy! I was so into your story and the outcome never crossed my mind. I love a good mystery! =D
ReplyDeleteLOL Oh my gosh...it sounds just like that groundhog movie! I guess we all have our morning routines don't me..mine is getting up, bathroom, shoes on, out the door for my morning walk, trying to beat the heat of the morning sun! ;D
ReplyDeleteThis is good for you! To get you to be more "in the moment" - even way early in the morning, I guess!! Hang in there, Debbie!
ReplyDeleteOk I just have to tell you I'm no where near menopause (as you know) and I STILL do this kind of stuff. (Like, hey, it usually helps if you plug in your mixer before you want to use it. So many times I have thought the dumb thing was *broken* until I spent 5 minutes thinking about it...) So it apparently doesn't bode well for me later in life if I'm already doing it now! At least you're not alone... ;)
ReplyDeleteI love the way you scrambled "Blessings"! If it makes you feel any better...the story didn't seem that odd to me. Misery loooves company, hahaha! I have to make the coffee the night before and just plug it in (percolator) and have come back to pour a cup only to find that no water was put in..this has happened more that once..ugh.
ReplyDeleteOh I am laughing...and just look at all these comments...everyone flocks here to visit with you and of course nod in agreement.
ReplyDeleteI remember when my boys started deciding to re-arrange things in the kitchen. They had visited other's friends houses and felt that the friend's way of doing things was better...I would search and search for items they had changed to another place....one day I stomped my foot, "this is my house and I do it this way...go find that broom!" Even my daughter-in-law has told me how my kitchen need arrange...LOL
Too funny....they all four do it so different in their own homes and I have only lived 16 years at the most in one house....and that was before they were teens with rearranging in their minds.
Have a great day....
Smile! I've had moments like that. I'm sure they'll increase as I get older and enter various stages.
ReplyDeleteBTW - we unplug our toaster after each use - don't want it to burn down the house - need a new one. I don't know what'll happen when we get a new toaster...
ha ha ha ha ha ha, I can see myself doing the same thing. I love it.
ReplyDeleteOh my! That is funny! I can see myself doing that, too. LOL. ;o)
ReplyDeleteJust a few days ago I was saying, "Of all the things I've lost. I miss my mind the most." :::sigh::: It's the truth, though.
Favorite post of yours EVER!!! This was so fun, and I enjoyed laughing at... I mean WITH you. I loved how the light sort of dawned on you with a big old DUH that you were actually unplugging it. I'm giggling with you.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like the time when I was making my husband oatmeal one morning and waiting for the water to boil. I was wondering why it was taking SO long to boil (and so was my husband, who was now downstairs sitting at the table waiting for breakfast). I think this pot sat on the stove for about 10 minutes, and then, and only then, did I decide to remove the lid from the pot. When I looked inside, I discovered there was no water, DUH and double DUH!
ReplyDeleteSo, I say, you're in good company. As they say, "Peas in a Pod." :) Tee hee
Just be comforted that millions of women goes through this phase and somehow petty well all of them makes it to the next phase. Hugs. JB
ReplyDeleteOh No!!! I am sorry...I laughed....out loud....please don't think ill of me.
ReplyDeleteI just came home from my yearly physical....I would share one of my hormone replacement patches with you, but that would be illegal.
Praying you can balance out soon.
That was great fun and all the comments are so supportive. It is a fun loving club that is very forgiving of memory lapses and such. My worst "event" was locking my keys in my car-with the motor running! Who does that?
ReplyDeleteThis too shall pass. At least, the experts say our brains will come back! Whew! Have you ever read First We Have Coffee? I've read it many times and it's a joke in our family. We say, "FIRST!" and everyone knows it means, TIME FOR COFFEE!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I stumble downstairs and hubby is already up and it's time for me to get his second cup of coffee and my first. Then, I can think straight. Well, sometimes.
Oh my :) I find myself doing things like that more and more lately. I used to make fun of my mother and now my kids are making fun of me!
ReplyDeleteBig Hugs to you. My own mother went through it long ago and I know enough of her experience to have considerable anxiety about mine!
ReplyDeletewe wouldn't survive if hubby didn't grind beans and fix the coffee pot AT NIGHT. we buy a new pot about once a year because the timers just don't last long enough!
ReplyDeletelove the story. :)
~april
If you were a computer, I'd say that your hard disk needs defragging. Increase of stuff being deleted and added to the disk means that its all over the place. Got to store it more efficiently. Not sure my defrag program will work in this case!
ReplyDeleteGood to see "sense of humour" has been stored wisely. :)
Debbie,
ReplyDeleteI received an extra dose of delight from reading your comments after the delight of reading your post.
Isn't it such a comfort to know others are going through the same journey as you? We must keep laughing at ourselves...and frankly, we are hilarious!
"I'm going crazy...don't you want to come along?..."