they stumble and run out of the house at just before 7am, to go to school and work, and leave me alone for my favourite time of the day.
from just before 7am every morning i have one quiet hour, some me-time. this is the time i make my toast and coffee, and get back into bed, and read, or use my phone to go online to catch up with last night's twitter, and follow links to the news and stories of the day. i just breathe and chill and relax. at just before 8am i have to get into the shower, and get ready to leave, to open my shop on time at 9am.
that one quiet hour of me-time i cherish...
so, after they leave the house in a rush, and the house gets restfully quiet, i stumble to the kitchen in my pj's. i reach for the kettle, to switch it on, and find it is empty. so i take it to the tap to fill. while it is filling, i grab the wet cloth, to wipe down the counter, that is full of breadcrumbs and sugar and water from the breakfast rush. i also wipe down the kettle. while waiting for the water to boil, i gather all the water bottles and coffee cups standing around and put them in the basin. while fumbling for the coffee bottle, i see the sugar container is empty, and i fill it up from the big tub on top of the cupboard.
i stumble over the cat. she complains, and i see their food bowl is empty. i reach up for the food, and fill their bowl. then i rinse the water bowl and fill it with fresh water, and fill the dog's bowl with her food. i accidentally kick the water bowl, so i mop up the spill, and wipe the stains off the floor while i am busy, and refill the bowl with water.
i take out the toaster, and as i pick it up it rains crumbs. so i grab the cloth, and wipe up the crumbs and wipe down the toaster. i take out the bread and see it is almost finished, so go to the freezer to get a new loaf so it can defrost. while i am there, i take out the meat for tonight, and make a mental note that i must use the frozen carrots soon. i put in 2 slices of bread to toast, and while i wait, i wipe down the inside and outside of the bread tin, and lift it to wipe below it and behind it. in the meantime, the toast has burned, so i take the slices to the rubbish bin, to scrape off the black bits. the bin is full, so i take out the bag and knot it, and put it outside. i get a new bag, and put it in the bin. then i decide that the toast is still too burnt, so i put 2 new slices in the toaster, while i go outside to give the burnt toast to the big dog.
on my way back in, i find sean has decided against taking his jersey to school, and has dumped it on the couch in the lounge. i take it to his room, and switch off his lights, the bathroom lights and his radio. i shake my head at the state of his room. in the lounge the remote controls are on the couch, so i put them in their place, and i straighten the carpet, and the throw, and the coffee table, and put the magazine away.
back in the kitchen, i reach for the butter, and see that the tub is practically empty. so i go to the fridge to get a new one, and see that there are no more. so i write it on the grocery list, along with a few other items. back to the toast, i put cheese on one slice, and go to the grocery cupboard to get the syrup for the other slice. the bottle is very sticky, so i get the cloth and wipe down the bottle. before i can put the bottle back in the cupboard, i have to wipe the whole shelf because it is full of syrup too. i water my plants on the windowsill, and break out a few dead leaves.
reaching into another cupboard for a plate, i find the top one was not washed properly, so i put it in the basin, and get a new one, and put the toast on it. i put the cutting board, knives, cheese cutter and teaspoon in the basin, and wipe the counter again. grabbing the kettle, i feel the water has cooled, so i put it on to boil again. while i wait, i see that there is no milk left, so i get a sachet from the freezer, and put it out to thaw.
finally, i take my cup of coffee, and plate of now-cold toast, and with a contented sigh, i get into bed. just as i read the first sentence, i hear something. i get up to find my cleaning lady has arrived, and is in the freshly cleaned kitchen. i realise with a shock that that means it is now just after 8am, and i am already running late, and i have not even had my coffee yet...
from just before 7am every morning i have one quiet hour, some me-time. this is the time i make my toast and coffee, and get back into bed, and read, or use my phone to go online to catch up with last night's twitter, and follow links to the news and stories of the day. i just breathe and chill and relax. at just before 8am i have to get into the shower, and get ready to leave, to open my shop on time at 9am.
that one quiet hour of me-time i cherish...
so, after they leave the house in a rush, and the house gets restfully quiet, i stumble to the kitchen in my pj's. i reach for the kettle, to switch it on, and find it is empty. so i take it to the tap to fill. while it is filling, i grab the wet cloth, to wipe down the counter, that is full of breadcrumbs and sugar and water from the breakfast rush. i also wipe down the kettle. while waiting for the water to boil, i gather all the water bottles and coffee cups standing around and put them in the basin. while fumbling for the coffee bottle, i see the sugar container is empty, and i fill it up from the big tub on top of the cupboard.
i stumble over the cat. she complains, and i see their food bowl is empty. i reach up for the food, and fill their bowl. then i rinse the water bowl and fill it with fresh water, and fill the dog's bowl with her food. i accidentally kick the water bowl, so i mop up the spill, and wipe the stains off the floor while i am busy, and refill the bowl with water.
i take out the toaster, and as i pick it up it rains crumbs. so i grab the cloth, and wipe up the crumbs and wipe down the toaster. i take out the bread and see it is almost finished, so go to the freezer to get a new loaf so it can defrost. while i am there, i take out the meat for tonight, and make a mental note that i must use the frozen carrots soon. i put in 2 slices of bread to toast, and while i wait, i wipe down the inside and outside of the bread tin, and lift it to wipe below it and behind it. in the meantime, the toast has burned, so i take the slices to the rubbish bin, to scrape off the black bits. the bin is full, so i take out the bag and knot it, and put it outside. i get a new bag, and put it in the bin. then i decide that the toast is still too burnt, so i put 2 new slices in the toaster, while i go outside to give the burnt toast to the big dog.
on my way back in, i find sean has decided against taking his jersey to school, and has dumped it on the couch in the lounge. i take it to his room, and switch off his lights, the bathroom lights and his radio. i shake my head at the state of his room. in the lounge the remote controls are on the couch, so i put them in their place, and i straighten the carpet, and the throw, and the coffee table, and put the magazine away.
back in the kitchen, i reach for the butter, and see that the tub is practically empty. so i go to the fridge to get a new one, and see that there are no more. so i write it on the grocery list, along with a few other items. back to the toast, i put cheese on one slice, and go to the grocery cupboard to get the syrup for the other slice. the bottle is very sticky, so i get the cloth and wipe down the bottle. before i can put the bottle back in the cupboard, i have to wipe the whole shelf because it is full of syrup too. i water my plants on the windowsill, and break out a few dead leaves.
reaching into another cupboard for a plate, i find the top one was not washed properly, so i put it in the basin, and get a new one, and put the toast on it. i put the cutting board, knives, cheese cutter and teaspoon in the basin, and wipe the counter again. grabbing the kettle, i feel the water has cooled, so i put it on to boil again. while i wait, i see that there is no milk left, so i get a sachet from the freezer, and put it out to thaw.
finally, i take my cup of coffee, and plate of now-cold toast, and with a contented sigh, i get into bed. just as i read the first sentence, i hear something. i get up to find my cleaning lady has arrived, and is in the freshly cleaned kitchen. i realise with a shock that that means it is now just after 8am, and i am already running late, and i have not even had my coffee yet...
...and i wonder for a moment why that one quiet hour of me-time that i cherish, always seems to be so short...
ps. i was admonished by linda on facebook, so i edit to add this: when i got to the shop, i spent a few minutes chatting to linda. suddenly, she checked my earrings, and started laughing. i was wearing 2 different earrings! they are not even remotely the same. shows you how crazy things were this morning...
