I don’t know about you, but I’ve been goin’ at a mile a minute, lately. Seems like there’s just so much to do, and not enough time to do it. All good stuff for the most part, but yikes! I’m all hepped up, and didn’t even realize it ‘til the other night.

That evening, I zip home from work, change my clothes and walk Scamp twice as long as I usually do ‘cause, there’s a Weight Watchers activity challenge on. I’ve been wearing a pedometer, and wasn’t even close to my goal of 10,000 steps a day. I figured I had to at least get in the ballpark, you know? So I put the pedal to the metal (or the New Balance on the black top, as it were).

Got home and whipped together a new WW recipe: Pork Cacciatore, which takes longer than it says on the instructions, per usual. Am I the slowest cook in the world, or does this happen to you, too? Cookin’ healthy and exercising is worth it, but God, it’s time consuming! ‘Course, I could have just thrown the pork on the grill, steamed up some veggies and called it a day, but I had my mind set on tryin’ that recipe.

So finally Charlie and me sit down to dinner, ‘bout an hour later than we usually do, but for once he’s not chompin’ at the bit. See, he’s been readin’ this article in Field and Stream about extreme jungle fly fishin’ or something, and was all jacked up about it. So we’re eating, and Charlie’s sharin’ the story with me, and I confess, I’m only half listening, ‘cause I’m thinkin’ about what I want to get done that evening.

 “Dinosaur fish?” I says, trying to stay with it.

“Yup. They only live in this one river in Africa. Really hard to catch. Big deal if you do.”
“Really?” I ask, as I begin my own conversation in my head. You know, the one between the good me and the bad me.

“Ida,” the good one me says, “look at Charlie! He’s so excited about this story. Just cool your jets and enjoy it.”

“Yeah, but I wish he’d stop talkin’ and finish up. I still need to do the dishes, and I want to do a quick vacuum, and touch up the bathroom for book group Thursday.”

“That’s two days away! What difference is fifteen minutes goin’ to make?”

“Well, I want to have time to sit down with the new O magazine after, and have a coconut fruit bar before turning in.”

“You’ll get it done. And if you don’t, so what? It’ll all work out.”  

“That’s easy for you to say. But I have to get it done tonight, ‘cause tomorrow night I’m setting the table and making that new appetizer.”

“Come on, what’s more important, Ida? Charlie or a clean toilet?”

I actually hesitated on that one. Like I had to think about it. And in that pause, I notice Charlie’s starin’ at me.

“Situation like that,” he says, “what would you do?”

“Uh, I don’t know, Charlie. What you have done?”

“Tough call,” he says, getting up from the table. “Anyways, that was good, whatever it was.”

“Thanks, Charlie. Glad you liked. Wow! Those dinosaur fish sure are somethin’!”

“That they are,” he replies.

Jumping up from the table, I launch into my “to do” list. It’s only later that night, ‘bout four in the mornin’ actually, when I’m thinking about Charlie and how wound up he was about those dinosaur fish, and my heart starts to ache. You know, sometimes I can get so caught up doin’ things I think are “urgent,” I lose track of what’s important.

That’s it for now. Catch you on the flip side!

Listen to Ida's podcast.

The views expressed on this Web site are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the views of Down East Enterprise or its employees.