Hi honey, how was YOUR day?

I had the day off today. Technically it was a "sick" day because I had a dentist appointment.  In reality, it was to be a mental health day, which is even more important to my overall health than regular dental checkups.  If I don't take a day every once in awhile to run errands, do the laundry, and just get some stuff done, I go insane.  And I don't feel bad about this questionable use of sick time because I'm never, ever sick.  I have only called in sick to my current job one time over the past three years, and even then I wasn't sick.  I had just been awake for three days and wasn't sure I could walk down the street without walking in front of a garbage truck, so I figured I'd do my office a favor and stay the hell home.

I had a typically full agenda for today: 10am yoga class, shower, eat some lunch, 1pm dentist appointment, hit up the library, do the grocery shopping, drop off our dry cleaning, get an oil change, do the laundry, make dinner, work on grouting the wall, clean the house.  As mundane as it all sounds, I LOVE these days.  I feel like I've gotten something accomplished when I can cross various tasks off my list, and I honestly don't mind running errands.  In fact, I adore running errands.

It all started out well enough.  I stayed up late last night finishing Lonesome Dove (and yes, Laurel, I did cry before it was over) and enjoyed sleeping in before heading to my yoga class.  The class was great and my knee (which I managed to hurt while walking up the steps in our house yesterday) didn't bother me at all.  I had a delicious lunch consisting of a chocolate chip cookie and a granola bar, took a shower, put in a load of laundry, brushed my teeth, and headed for the door twenty minutes before my appointment.  Just as I was about to walk out, I remembered I'd left the one and only shirt that really needed to go to the dry cleaner upstairs in the bedroom and I ran back up to get it, delighted that the stairs weren't bothering my knee even after getting my ass kicked by the yoga instructor.  I ran back downstairs, still with enough time to make it to my appointment early.  As I shut the door behind me, I had one of those slow motion NOOOOOOOOOO moments.   My keys were on the table inside.  I had my purse and the stupid shirt but NO KEYS.  And yes, I locked the door on my way out.  It's habit.

Ways to ruin a perfectly good day off: Get into a car accident, lose your wallet, fall flat on your face in the sidewalk, LOCK YOURSELF OUT OF THE HOUSE WITH 15 MINUTES TO MAKE IT TO THE ONE AND ONLY THING YOU RELALY HAD TO DO TODAY.

It's not as bad as the time I locked myself out of the house the day before Christmas Eve, right as I was supposed to be leaving for an emergency vet appointment and a drive to New Jersey during holiday traffic , when Max was barfing all over the house and Joel was approximately 250 miles away, and it was pouring rain.  Have I ever told that story, the story of The Worst Day Of My Life, here?  If not, remind me to do that sometime.  But still, this wasn't cool.  I really need to find a place to hide a key in front of our house, since this is, oh, I don't know, maybe the 6th time I've locked myself out of the house during the 4 years we've lived here.  And since I myself made sure that we has aFort Knox burglar alarm system installed (and there is an iron gate on the alley) (and a giant window box that does double duty holding dying plants and making it IMPOSSIBLE to get through the front window), there is no way in hell to get into our house without a key.  Jack Bauer could not get into our house, which is unfortunate because 1. I wouldn't mind if Jack Bauer broke into my house, and 2. I can't get in without a key either.

I called Joel, and luckily he works nearby and could get away to come home and let me in.  In the meantime, I tried to call my dentist to tell them I was running late.  Apparently, I'd programmed their number into my phone wrong, and the doctor's office 20 miles away, whose number I apparently thought fit to save in my phone under "dentist" didn't seem to care that I was "having car trouble".  What, not having a key to get into your car qualifies as car trouble.  YES IT DOES.  SHUT UP.

Then, just to top things off, a gang of nice gentlemen stopped to harrass me while I was sitting on our front steps sweating my ass off, which is always a sure way to make my day.  They were speaking to me in Spanish and I didn't understand what they were saying  because I don't really understand Spanish anymore, but I'm pretty sure I didn't appreciate it.   Finally I just looked one of them in the eye and said "Adios!" and pointed down the street, using the same tone I tell Madison to get back in the house when he sneaks out.  It works better on sleazy guys, because they left JUST as Joel pulled up in his big manly truck. 

I made it to the dentist, and I am still cavity-free, so at least there's that. 

On my way out, I found out that my dentist is no longer going to accept my insurance starting next month. 

But, hey.  At least I wasn't stuck in the office today.

Comments

[janet]

oh man, that doesn't sound like a mental health day in a good way anymore :) kidding...it is better than work!

[angelaknow]

We never have a house key on us, just our garage door opener that is kept in our car. If there's ever a time where I have the car and Nick gets a ride home from someone, he always forgets until he shows up at the house that he has no way to get inside. This latest time involved him walking over to the neighbor's house to borrow a ladder, climbing up to the second story, crawling through the guest bedroom window which was the only window that wasn't locked, and practically falling right into the house. Maybe you should try that next time.

[elise]

If your garage door was broken, and your husband would never fix it, you could always jimmy the garage controls and get in.

I mean, hypothetically. Not that I would know anything about that.

[Nap Queen]

Oh the mental health day! I, too, am never sick (I got paid out for like 70 sick hours when I left my last job) and love to spend the day as a lady of leisure.

That BLOWS about they keys, though, and I would love to hear about your worst day ever. I can only imagine....

[Isabel]

Anything is better then being at work. Right?

(Okay, so let's hear more about Lonesome Dove. You love it, right? I was right, right?! Who do you love more, Newt or Gus?)

[Laurel]

Your errand day sounds so great to me... minus the locking yourself out and sexual harassment, of course.

Now I gots to check Lonesome Dove out for myself!