When the kids are in school and I have a Friday off, the enormity of deciding what to do is like being a kid in a candy store, with a few pennies (or dollars as the declining dollar dictates) and having to choose only one of what seems like hundreds of good options.
What should I do with seven hours of time? So many options tug at me that I could spend the entire seven hours just thinking about the things I could or should do. I could spend time with my mother. I could allot some for friends I have neglected. But, work first, play later, right? It is Friday, and a weeks worth of neglect has left plenty of house cleaning to be done. I have a Costco membership which lately I never use, because it just seems so out of the way to drive, and my other errands are in the opposite direction. I could go on a hike, or at least a good long walk.
The list goes on and on. You would think seven hours would be plenty of time, but with all the time that goes in to driving everywhere, it just never is.
This particular Friday went like this. Left house at 7:15. Picked up carpool kids by 7:30. Got stuck behind train, school buses etc and ended up at school at 8:0something. Drove back to town, got gas, went to bank, drove 35 minutes to mother's house for a visit, a walk and a birthday (hers) breakfast. All enjoyable, good, and pre-planned.
Once we parted company is when the what should I dos kicked in. In a moment of bold decision making, I decided as long as I was already in the neighborhood I should takes another walk to a store I'd been wanting to check out, which turned out to be kind of a disappointment. But at least now I know.
After making mental pro / con lists on whether or not I should drive out to Costco, I decided to come home. My intention was to take a long walk with the dog, then go grocery shopping, stp at Kohls to make a return and stop at the Hallmark store, leaving me time to come home, unload everything and turn around to go pick up kids.
What actually happened was I got home and sat down for a few minutes and watched an episode of "The Office." And then another. Then, spurred on by the thought of my two year old nephew coming to visit next weekend and playing on the dirty floors, I started cleaning. And here is the thing with an open floor plan. It is very hard to only sweep or mop one area, so once you start you're kind of committed to sweeping and mopping the whole thing, family room, living room and dining room. One thing led to another and hours later, my house was much cleaner, but we had no groceries. It turned out to be OK, though, because my mother gave me some raisinettes and husband picked up pizza, and both those things are better than boring lunch meat, ho hum salad, and way over rated milk.
Maybe it is not so much indecisiveness as a lack of focus. Can't decide.
