Day 24

I know I joke about it a lot, but I actually think this habit is starting to form. It doesn't piss me off to put my clothes away the way it used to! It seems more like a logical step, something that of course I'm going to do at the end of the day--why wouldn't I? Hmmm. Interesting.

Last night went well, though that's partly because half my clothes were stained and needed to go in the laundry or to the cleaners. I wish I'd remembered that today when I finally went to the cleaners to get my pants hemmed. I was so excited (over a month ago) (Side note: This will henceforth be known as the italics post) to find a great pair of summer pants that fit me everywhere except for the length. I was so excited to wear them that I actually cuffed them under and wore tall shoes to a client, and felt great!

But the cuffs didn't stay put so I decided to hem them. Or, to be accurate, have them hemmed. My mother hems all her own stuff, and I get it--why spend money on a tailor if you can sew? But I'll tell you why: the tailor actually cuts off the extra fabric or at least makes it lie really flat so your cuffs look crisp, not just folded under and safety-pinned. Which I have done, and you can totally see the safety pins glinting in the sunlight, however small you try to make them.

So I bring my stuff to a tailor and count it as part of the cost of buying the pants. I also pretend I can't sew so I don't have to do annoying things at home like fix holes or sew buttons back on. (This may reveal a slight prejudice on my part regarding extra buttons and explain yesterday's directive to toss them all.) The point is, the pants finally made it to the tailor, but I basically missed the season. It's one more little thing that somehow grows overwhelming and impossible to get to in my mind, when really it doesn't take that long to do, and it isn't the biggest deal if it doesn't get done.

Here's another example. I'm all cool now about putting away my clothes (at this moment, anyway), but an hour ago my husband and I almost got into a big fight about cleaning out the refrigerator. It's not that it's such a big job, it's just that I'd rather be doing just about anything else instead. (I feel like I uttered an almost identical sentence about putting clothes away just a few weeks ago.) (Side note: This will henceforth be known as the italics and (parentheses) post.) (And the Side Note: post.) (Is that too long?)

Anyway, we were arguing about when he asked me to clean it out (I said he'd already asked me this morning but he said he asked me yesterday); how many times he asked me (I thought once, he said twice); and the fact that I'd been busy all day doing important things, didn't he see that?! And then suddenly I was taking it to a place where I thought all he could see was what I wasn't doing instead of everything I did.

I was also having an out-of-body-experience while we argued. I knew this wasn't a helpful way to communicate, that we were both right, that we were both getting frustrated and for sure wouldn't resolve anything this way, and I couldn't seem to stop myself!

And then I did. I just stopped. We still had to talk it through, but we did seem to hear each other and we both got what we needed. Most importantly, I got to watch Glee (Best. Show. Ever.) and went through the fridge during the commercials. It hardly took any time of course (especially because I left the empty containers in the sink for my husband to clean. Heh heh.), and it was another way for me to see how much energy and frustration I can throw up around things that (a) don't really take that long, and (b) just need to get done anyway.

So, that's a good lesson for today, and may anyone whose birthday is tomorrow have a fabulous day!