The weekend in review

Fridays always dawn with the sense of anticipation of "the weekend". It seems that I often feel like I did when I was a kid trying to sleep on Christmas Eve or on the night before we leave for a long anticipated vacation. OK... maybe that is an exaggeration.... I do do that from time to time. Yet it's still exciting. In you younger, single days, Fridays brought the excitement of going out with friends after work... going to a couple of bars, listening to music and hanging out with friends... and maybe, just maybe... meeting "Someone". And truth be told, it was on one of these Friday nights that I did meet Russell. So it's probably true that my instincts were on to something. However, I digress. I could follow that train of thought and end up with a completely different type of blog!

The thing about my weekends of late are that they end up being centered around dining out, family/friends, church and sometimes that horrible word that I seem to avoid at all costs: chores. I guess the kid in me still strongly rebels at that word... and in my mind... chores really have no place in "fun time", which weekends should be. Shouldn't they?

Well maybe not!

I'm adult after all... it even says so on my drivers license... and in reality... chores do have a place in our lives... and they don't stop on weekends. Life just doesn't work that way. So you can grumble and make it horrible, or you can deal with them as cheerfully as possible. That seems to work the best, and in looking back also seems to (at times) create wonderful memories as well.

In typical fashion, this weekend had a schedule. I am all about "the schedule" and I can fill it rapidly and with finesse. Fridays are usually quiet. Russell works late much of the time and then we stop off and grab dinner somewhere. This week we went to a small restaurant and I had a yummy steak, salad and baked sweet potato. Russell had ribs, which always seem to be good at this place (The Barbecue Hut).

Once home, we got the dogs walked and fed and then settled in for the night. We watched our usual cooking shows on PBS... and it was a nice quiet evening. Saturday morning found us having breakfast and figuring out the rest of day. I went off to spend the day with my sister and Russell headed off to work. The plan was to meet his at his Mom's at 4 and go to Mass. Well, best laid plans even go awry. I was running late, and so I sent a text message to Russell to let him know... and was to meet them at Church.

Lilli and I had a great time together. We visited her friend, went shopping and had lunch at a new burger place.... talk about YUMMY fries. Then we went and saw our Mother.... and then I headed to church. I love going to Mass, and the readings and Gospel were exactly what I needed to hear. Funny how it seems to work out that way more often then not. After Mass, we ate at a little Greek place. Again yummy food. I told you that much of our time is centered around dining out!

As I was driving home, my mind was zig zagging all over the place, but there was one thing that became very clear. I needed to urgently do laundry. So after a stop at Walmart to pick up some things for Russell (benadryl and new boxers.. which both blew him away) I flew home and loaded the washer.

And once again we were settled in our den after a good but very hectic day. We watched a TV. Russell and the dogs dozed and I played around on Facebook. The hour grew late and Russell took Ben and went to bed. I put Kira and Yelda into bed and remembered my laundry. So I headed downstairs to put the wash into the dryer. And this is when my "master plan" went awry.

I smelled something... and it wasn't good. Something smelled hot and I was quite alarmed. There was no smoke, and nothing felt hot to the touch. I went to the washer... opened the door and discovered that it was still full of water. UH-OH, this was definitely not good. I tried to restart it, and got nothing but a weak hum. And so up the stairs I flew to wake Russell. I know I scared him and I felt bad but he needed to check this out. So back down the stairs we hurried... and he knew right away that a belt had broken. And this meant the washer was not going to work until it was fixed. CRAP, CRAP and more CRAP! Sleepy, Russell went back upstairs, and I followed, with all sorts of alternative plans for the next day zooming through my mind.

I went to bed with half formed plans. The day's schedule was pretty full... yet we had a soaking wet load of laundry to deal with. So by 8:30 we were up and at 'em. Time for chores, and team work. As I walked the dogs, I said a prayer... and this is what I really wanted to blog about. I felt tense and uneasy. And so I prayed that we have the patience and camaraderie to get through this... and my prayer was answered. After the dogs were settled, I went down to help Russell wring out the soaking wet clothes. We filled two tubs of wet clothes, and I bailed the washer while he loaded them in the car. I grabbed our detergent and a container of change that I had been saving for a rainy day. The irony of this made me grin.

And off to the laundromat we went. And truth be told.... there's something to be said for the efficiency of doing laundry this way. It goes by so fast, and it was kind of fun. We worked together as a team and got the job done. And my "master plan" schedule for Sunday remained in place, and everything worked out. We had brunch with our friends and then I went off to a concert with my cousin and a girls night out. I came home feeling like it had been a long day, but a good one. Chores had been taken care of, in the spirit of teamwork... and the result was that our spirits were happy and content as bedtime came. And of course, my prayers had been answered. Thank you God!