I'm losing my mind.

This morning I spent time on my hair. It was a good hair day. Then I realized it was snowing/raining outside. What a waste of time, especially since I have to trudge around campus in the rain and snow and wind.

I decided I would wear boots, so I planned an outfit around my gray boots and got dressed. Then I found out at the last minute that my gray boots must have walked out the door on Abby or Katie’s feet because I couldn’t find them anywhere. I wanted to scream. So I had to change my outfit.

I still had to run to Walmart for donuts and jelly beans for Tyler’s class party so now I was running behind schedule. And I needed to eat before I went to school or else I wouldn’t be able to eat until after 3:30.

I was in and out of Walmart in a hurry but then I took the groceries out to the car and realized I had forgotten to pay for a package of knives. I screamed and ran back in, all the while fighting with a stupid umbrella to try to save my good hair. I paid for the knives in a self-checkout that only took debit cards. So I decided to get cash back with my dollar purchase. I was really getting stressed now.

I struggled with the machine for a minute, of course, grabbed my cash back, and ran out. I stopped at Mcdonalds inside Walmart for a fruit and yogurt parfait because I felt another scream coming on.

Fighting with the umbrella again I ran to the car and hurried home. I started throwing 16 jelly beans into each Ziploc bag for the bingo markers for the party. Then I realized I was out of jelly beans and need two more bags! Another scream.

Then I thought, “Where did I put those knives?” “I could really use one to slit my wrist right now.” And that’s when I realized I had left the knives that I went back in to pay for, in the bag at the self-checkout! Of course I screamed.

I inhaled a few of the deformed jelly beans that I didn’t want to use to keep me from a complete meltdown and then ran upstairs to get my rings that I had left in the ring cleaner. As I grabbed the rings the whole thing of ring cleaner spilled out. “Seriously?” I thought. I convinced myself not to crawl back into bed right then, ran downstairs, grabbed a Diet Coke and went to school, afraid of what the rest of the day would bring.

Bacon and Tomato Sandwich

(I'm posting this a few months late. I just haven't had time to write it down.)

I was driving down I-15 home from school one day when I realized it was September and I had not eaten a bacon and tomato sandwich yet. Summer was over, gone. What had I done?! How did I let that happen?!

I had grown up eating bacon and tomato sandwiches my whole life. My dad’s garden was always overflowing with fresh, ripe tomatoes and the refrigerator was never short on bacon. Was I so busy during the summer that I never thought about enjoying warm tomatoes off the vine with crispy bacon on toasted bread smeared with Miracle Whip? My mouth is watering just thinking about it. But, yes, I was too busy, among other things.

I was taking four classes and juggling four kids and a dozen or so neighbor kids on a daily basis. But that couldn’t be the only reason. Another reason was that my own tomatoes had disappointed me. They never produced, anything, ever. I don’t know what went wrong with my own tomatoes but that was no excuse. My dad lives a mile away and had a garden full at all times. I often brought some home to my house. There had to be another reason for the lapse in memory. Then I realized I never bought bacon. Bacon is not something we eat on a regular basis. It’s a special occasion treat for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or Christmas morning. But a bacon and tomato sandwich in the summertime is a special occasion! What was I thinking? Or not thinking?

To let the summer come and go without eating at least a dozen was a tragedy, but I hadn’t even had one! I was determined to go home and have a B&T sandwich for lunch even though it was September. But by the time I arrived home my thoughts had moved on to other issues. Not more important ones I’m sure. And I didn’t have any bacon or tomatoes either, so that made it difficult. I had to give up the dream of eating a deliciously fresh bacon and tomato sandwich until next summer. But I vow not to let this happen again.

Special K

Sometimes it’s the little things in life that really make a difference. Like today when I opened a new box of Special K Almond. It’s my favorite. I eat it every morning and sometimes again at night. But today when I opened it I got a special surprise. No, it didn’t have a toy, or a coupon. It had extra almonds! Usually when I open a new box I have to dig for almonds that have settled at the bottom. But today they just poured out right from the top. I could see them everywhere. It made me feel really lucky, like I got the special box or maybe it was the batch they messed up on but still, I got it.

Another little thing that makes a big difference is the little bit of caramel and whip cream I added to my cookie dough ice cream last night. I don’t do that every night, but when I do it makes me happy. And I can’t forget the first gulp of an ice cold, almost frosty Diet Coke. That brings me joy too. Yes, I realize I find too much happiness in food but that’s why I keep running. Life is short. Find happiness in the little things.