Monday, October 18, 2010

Whatever Gets Me through the Day

I'm not a perfectionist. Yes, I like to do things right if I'm going to do them at all, but I don't believe there's one right way to do things--even in editing. Sure, there are rules I'm rigid about. Others, like ending a sentence with a preposition, don't rile me up much.

I also like to be a better person--healthier, smarter, kinder, more patient. Not healthier, smarter, kinder, and more patient than the next person . . . just healthier, smarter, kinder, and more patient than my natural self.

But now and then I get tired of it all. Don't you? Tired of trying to excel, tired of smiling when you just want to bark back at the dog, tired of pretending. It's not the same kind of tired that turns me into a miserable old hag that no one wants to be around (I hope; though I do tend toward that personality occasionally as well). It's the kind of tired that makes me say, "Y'know what? Not today. I'm me. This is it. I'll try harder tomorrow. Get off my back."

And on days like that--on days like this, I require certain things (not necessarily all at once or on the same day--to just get me through:

1. Diet Wild Cherry and/or Diet Lime Pepsi over ice with a straw. I don't need two liters. A glass will do. I know the caffeine isn't good for me, and the acidity is even worse. I've gone weeks without one, so I know what life is like without my soda. I can survive without it. I just don't really need to at the moment.

2. A Mounds bar. I don't know what most people in the world have against coconut. I take offense on the coconut's behalf. And draped in dark chocolate, it's 230 calories, 13 fat grams (10 of them saturated), and 5 minutes of well-earned and over-too-quickly bliss. I have a brother who is trying to only put good things into his body. He drinks kale for breakfast. Drinks it. Kale. He blends it with blueberries and then holds his nose so he doesn't have to smell or taste it. Why? So he can add another ten years to his life in which he'll get to drink kale for breakfast, snack on it for lunch, and then saute it with garlic for dinner? I'm not an eat-drink-and-be-merry kind of girl. Never have been, never will be. So I get the idea of taking care of yourself--just not that well. I'll do the dinner portion with him a couple of times a year. That's my compromise. In the meantime, it's the occasional Mounds for me.

3. A nap. I have a friend who schedules a nap into her day. I hope she still does since I count on her every time I close my eyes for more than two minutes. I don't recommend combining the nap with the Diet Pepsi or the Mounds, however. More than a nap, I like a good night's sleep.

4. A Battlestar-Galactica (or Buffy or Firefly or Dexter) marathon while I fold laundry . . . or just sit there and pretend I'm doing something vital like catching up on old magazines so I can recycle. Recycling is important. Or sometimes I pretend I'm crafty, and I'll make something out of felt and thread and ribbons and buttons, give it a name, and set it on one of my kids' beds. "Really, I sacrificed my afternoon for you. Battlestar Galactica was just something to play in the background while I sewed love for you into every stitch."

What do you do when you just need to get through the day? What are your indulgences, your guilty pleasures that you know you deserve?

6 comments:

Susan said...

Well... where do I start? When I have a ton of dishes to do, I just scoot them over so I have about 1 foot of space and make cookies, which get eaten for lunch and dinner, with milk, of course. My favorite indulgence, which makes me feel a lot better about myself, is watching "Hoarders" on line. My house is so clean in comparison. My house is even spotless in comparison. I am the queen of all house cleaners!!! Plus I like listening to the psychologists; it's free therapy for me.

Bobbie said...

I've never seen Hoarders, though I've heard of it a couple of times now. I need to look into it so I can feel better. More importantly, I need to have Ron watch it so he'll feel better about our clutter. And the milk with the cookies makes up for everything, doesn't it?

AngryBaker said...

Pepsi is my go-to. It's my liquor. It loosens me up and helps me relax.

Baking is also my therapy. But I swing with that one - I do it when I'm very happy and when I'm very low.

I used to buy celebrity mags as an indulgence but I think I grew up or something. Mostly I just didn't want my kids to see them. Or see me with them.

In winter it's heating pads and drinking chocolate. I'll make myself a mug and heat up my relax the back pad and just sit and do nothing but feel warm.

I love to check my google reader to see who has new posts. I try to just save it for one designated time, but sometimes I'll sneak 5 minutes in while the baby is distracted.

Mounds are good. My parents love them. I, myself, am a milky way girl.

The thought of drinking kale makes me throw up in my mouth. Your brother is tough, or just crazy.

Bobbie said...

Hm. A heating pad, Angry Baker? I haven't tried that but now know I need to. And I'm okay with Milky Ways as long as they're dark chocolate. Milk chocolate in any form (except the occasional Kiss) just doesn't tempt me.

And my brother is a little of both. A conversation with him can go from the meaning of life to sex to kale to bowel movements all within the space of three minutes. He never fails to entertain. :-)

Abby said...

I love your blog :]. Posts like this make me feel like I'm not as weird as I feel. When I'm having a 'Blah day,' I need a Diet Coke, a warm cookie, and some one-on-one time with a laugh-out-loud show like My Wife and Kids or Friends. And if I feel REALLY ambitious, I clean... sweep, fold, dust, wipe, and reorganize. :]

Christina said...

I had no idea you were a fellow Mounds lover! There aren't many of us around. Just another thing to like about you :)
My get through the day list:
1.Mounds (when not available, Dark chocolate is a close second). I've always wondered, what if you "feel like a nut", but only like dark chocolate? Am I the only one who wishes there was an almond joy that had dark chocolate?
2. Diet Pepsi.
3. On the days where I don't feel like dealing with life, I'll read a novel for hours while the kids are at school. Shhh. . . don't tell anyone. They think I spend the day running errands, cleaning the house or making useful things. Most days I do, but every once in a while, I need to escape.
4. Stupid television--anything that I think might make me laugh.
Great post--it makes me feel better knowing I'm not the only ones who has those kind of days.