HO-HO-HO-HUM
Dear Readers,
This is a gentle reminder that, especially at this hectic time of the year, it is vitally important for all of us to be well rested and not to overextend ourselves. Like I did yesterday.
For those of you who may have been reading my posts for a couple of months, you may recall that I said that this year I would not be rushing at the last minute to do my shopping (as in years past). Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Yesterday, one week and one day before Christmas, found me making a large loop centered around the mall. I had to go to the post office, the drug store, the grocery store, a restaurant for a gift certificate, then to the mall. Well, I had my route all planned and was in the Christmas spirit. I had just finished a successful mall run and was congratulating myself when I realized I wasn’t done yet. I had forgotten to go to the pet store to get a gift for my mother’s little dog, Mugsy. (It’s really more for Mom than it is for Mugsy, truth be told). Anyway, after that, I was really starting to feel the fatigue setting in. A little voice in my head said, “Robin – Go Home!”, but I refused to listen. Next thing I know, I was trying to park my car in the last available space on the street. I had to back up to pull in, and I started to do that, then looking back realized I would have to move forward a little to give room to the car behind me. As I pulled forward I heard a “Thunk!”. That was the sound of my left fender crunching the tail light of the big black Mercedes in front of me.
You can imagine what ensued. The offended elderly couple got out of their car and began to berate me. I began apologizing and shaking and feeling like I was four years-old. We exchanged information, and very slowly, I pulled away and went home with my tail tucked between my legs.
Now, it’s cold and flu season, and Art has had a cold, so on top of the holiday bustle, I have been running on less than all four cylinders. (If one person in a relationship has a cold, essentially, you both do – because every time he wakes up to cough, you wake up, and your sleep is interrupted.) So I was tired and I had a lapse where the synapses weren’t firing.
Take it from me. Sleep. Rest. And if that little voice in your head starts to nag you to go home, go home. There are still seven shopping days left till Christmas.
© 2004, Robin Munson