For most of my adult life, I have been a list maker. I make shopping lists, gift lists, Wish Lists, To Do lists and more . . . Last night before going to bed, I made a To Do list for today. On it I listed six items. Before the day was half over, I went back to check my list. I was able to check off only two of them. How frustrating! And if that wasn’t bad enough, throughout the morning I had felt the need to add three more things to the list!
Yes, I will admit that in days gone by, I was not above adding little things I had done during the day just for the satisfaction of being able to cross them off my list! With my energy sagging as it has been for the past three months (the same amount of time that I have been on Femara) my ‘crossing things off my list’ activity has dwindled—heck, it has nearly come to a screeching halt! And if that was not bad enough, I have received more phone calls today than I normally get in a week.
That is not what is most frustrating to me however. I am becoming senile or at least I have developed ‘part timers’ disease. This afternoon, I put a pan of eggs on to boil. Then I noticed that it had clouded up and the wind had picked up so I slipped on my shoes and went out to check on the blackberries before a storm (it was another false alarm of course here in parched Alabama) hit. My husband followed me and we picked blackberries, then took a leisurely stroll around the garden. By the time we had gotten back to the porch, it had cooled off considerably and the air was much drier as well. That swing on the porch was so inviting that I plopped into it and enjoyed the cool, dry air while we leisurely swung and sorted our berries. A little while later, we went back inside to catch the evening news. I walked through the entire kitchen and into my office to check my list . . . but I was distracted by a knitting basket that my mother had given me on our recent trip to Michigan . . . so I decided to see what was in it. I had it all inventoried and organized and when I went to put it away, I noticed a pan of something steaming on the stove. Thank goodness I had the forethought not to follow my first impulse and say to my husband, “What are you cooking now?” Yep! It was the pan of eggs I had put on to boil nearly an hour previous.
My daughter has long lamented that the Lord protects fools and children. Alas, I had not burned down the house but in just another minute or two, I certainly would have scorched those eggs! I quickly took them off the stove and filled the pan with cold water. Only the Lord could have prevented a mess from that! Whew! I have reread the literature packaged with the Femara twice and unfortunately, I cannot blame this symptom on them. Believe me, I tried.
The past few days I have been distracted and a bit discouraged. The eternal optimist in me rebels vehemently against that! But, sadly, I look around my home and I am truly beginning to feel overwhelmed with just how far behind I am. The carpets need cleaning. The curtains and windows need washing. The walls sure could use a fresh coat of paint and the woodwork needs a good scrubbing, too. I don’t even want to go where the dust bunnies dwell! I know. It’s easy for me tell someone else that they just need to lower their standards and not worry so much about little things like that . . . but apparently I am an Immaculate Irma at heart . . . and it is hard for me to continually be lowering my standards of cleanliness and tidiness.
By the standards of some folks, my house isn’t all that bad and of course I also realize that others rarely notice all the little things that we do in our own homes, but at the same time, should you decide to visit, please be gracious enough to leave your eyeglasses in the car . . . oh, and I still have five items on my To Do list!
Mary Lou's Space 