Have
you ever wondered if you’re losing it?
Yesterday
I went into the kitchen and began making a cup of coffee. I moved
to the fridge, opened the door, and blindly reached inside to
grab a container of half and half from the usual shelf.
It
wasn’t there. It wasn’t anywhere. The container was gone. Apparently,
we were out.
My
wife doesn’t drink coffee. We haven’t had anything in the house
other than my coffee that used half and half… meaning any item
or recipe where Terry might have grabbed it and used what was
left in the carton.
This
stuck with me all day long. Try as I might, I simply don’t remember
finishing it myself. In fact, I remember putting the container
back in the fridge the day before. There wasn’t much left, but
enough for another cup or two.
Normally,
at this point, I’d silently figure out a way to blame Terry. (Silently
is the important word in that statement… for purposes of describing
how it actually takes place, as well as for my overall health
and wellbeing.)
As
full disclosure, I haven’t asked her about it. And when I say
blame, I don’t mean truly blaming her… I mean coming up with a
reason for what happened. Something like: “Oh, the half and half
is gone. When did that happen? Oh, look, the shelves are packed
because Terry mixed a couple of containers of lemonade. She must
have finished it off somehow to make shelf space for the lemonade.”
But
that didn’t happen here. (Note to self… we’re almost out of lemonade.)
The
weird thing is, over the past few years this has happened to me
more and more. And, unlike the half and half… which stays in the
fridge… I’m not so certain age is the only contributing factor.
My
organizational systems around the house, in a fashion I would
like to believe is similar to most people, is often based in large
part upon use.
For
instance, out in the garage you’ll find things for the lawn mower
or snow blower, bird feeders, and most tools very quickly. I use
them. Often. The Christmas stuff is in a back corner, out of the
way. Specialized items that are rarely needed, like the wrench
that works best under the sink at fitting around pipes and more
to tighten the faucet, never seem to be in the first drawer of
the tool chest I check, or even in the tool box with most of the
plumbing items. (But, when I do find it, I’m sure I’ll recall
the extra special reason for where I did have it and why I should
have remembered that’s where it was.)
This
system moves on throughout the house. The large pot we primarily
use for lobster has been missing for years and neither of us can
figure out where it went. That disk with three installations of
Microsoft Office Home and Business I bought, because we had a
PC and a laptop and I needed to buy it for both, when I eventually
needed the third installation because the PC had died? I found
our older printers, connecting cables long outdated, and lots
of other great stuff that I’ll never use for the computers again.
I eventually found it about a week after buying the software for
the new PC.
It
happens to kitchen gadgets… items in the food pantry… stuff for
the yard… and all over the place. The less things get used, the
more their location fades from memory… no matter how perfect a
storage location is when selected.
This
in turn explains a lot of my issues and wasted time when things
happen such as a change of season, where I am suddenly in the
garage spending far too long trying to find all of the stuff I
need in order to get the leaves raked.
It
does not explain where the darn half and half went.
And
as I consider all of this, that’s where things get tricky.
The
other day I was planning dinner. Wanted something a bit easy.
I saw some bacon in the fridge and rolls we had left over from
lunch the day before. I decided I could grill some chicken and
use the bacon to make some kind of club sandwiches. Needed some
lettuce and maybe a tomato. Corn on the cob is in season, and
there’s a produce stand close to a grocery store near our house.
Since it was a hotter summer day, I began thinking ice cream…
no, wait, sundaes… would be a great treat for dessert.
Grilled
chicken… corn on the cob… sundaes. Awesome. Just a quick run to
the store.
Well…
apparently everyone figured ice cream would be a great treat,
because most of the flavors Terry and I can agree on were gone.
I ended up getting frustrated with the search, finished my shopping,
and came home. As I was putting stuff away, I realized I had driven
back without stopping for the corn.
Muttering
a few choice curse words, I began moving things around the kitchen…
putting some stuff away for later while taking other things out
that I might need… eventually discovering I didn’t have any chicken.
Deep
breath of frustration, walked out to grab the mail, took care
of a couple of things, and went back out. Came back with six ears
of corn. And no chicken. Forgot the chicken.
And
now here I am, wondering if I really did finish the half and half,
or if maybe Terry got rid of it, or if any only slightly less
than impossible other scenarios took place. After all, even though
I did fix things under the sink with other tools, it’s been quite
a week for my memory. (Where is that darn wrench?)
In
the kitchen, we have a couple of pads of paper on the table. Whenever
we come across something we need… well, apparently except corn
on the cob and chicken… we write it on the list. Works great for
shopping, but we seem to abandon the idea when it comes to things
like making doctors’ appointments, cleaning out gutters, and remembering
oil changes. We could probably use a list for our lists.
All
of this eventually comes back to my morning coffee. And not because
of the half and half itself, but rather because each time I’ve
been near the fridge since then I’m overcome by the feeling that
I’m forgetting something else. Something big. Something I shouldn’t
be forgetting.
If
only I had put it back where it really belonged when I used it
last… or had written it on the list.