Stir Crazy
My backyard, December 10th, 2018
We’ve been snowed in since Saturday (four days ago), and it’s getting really old. Though my husband has tried plowing us out, the snow is the heavy, slushy type that is no match for his tiny tractor equipped with a snow blade. So, we’re staying put for the time being.
No matter what I cook, it all tastes the same, yet we look forward to eating as a means of breaking the boredom. I’ve finished all of my present wrapping; baked cookies (which means I’m SUPER bored); paid the bills online, shoveled so much snow that I’m walking crookedly; watched classic Christmas movies to the point that I can recite the lines in unison with the actors; cleaned out my closet; made suppers Julia Child would envy; and spent too much time on the internet, reading celebrity gossip, and buying more than I should have from every online store imaginable. (Raise your hands, ladies, if you’ve played that “buy one for you and one for me” game far too often). With all of this time on my hands, you’d think I’d get down to work on a new book since my latest, (THE RIVER TO GLORY LAND) is debuting on the 19th. But, no. All I feel like doing is a whole lot of nothing. Why is that? Why do we get so lazy when the world comes to a standstill, thanks to Mother Nature? And why is it when we’re forced to stay inside all we want is to be outside?
We’re strange creatures, us humans are. We always want what we can’t have at the moment, and once we get it, we’re sure there’s something better to be had. I keep looking out of the windows to see if the road below my house is starting to reappear beneath the mountain of snow, for once it does, that’s my “Get out of jail” card, and I’ll be pulling on my snow boots faster than you can say, “Poxatony Phil!” Then I’ll climb into my Jeep, crawl down the hill to my mailbox, go get some food at the grocery store, and, after that, for the big doin’s of the day, I’ll hit Walmart.
The funny thing is, as soon as I’m out, while I’m standing in long, slow lines, or navigating around the patches of black ice hiding in the shaded areas of the road just waiting to spin my vehicle like a top, I’ll be looking forward to getting back to the warmth and safety of my little home. And, for the millionth time, I’ll thank God that I don’t have to be out, driving to some terrible job I can’t stand before the sun even rises, and having to traverse REALLY dangerous roads to get there. I’ve been there and done that, and am blessed to have lived to tell about it.
When I pull into my driveway, I’ll heave a sigh of relief that I’m safely back again, and as I walk through the front door, I’ll smile at the beauty of my festively decorated Christmas cabin. I’ll lovingly rearrange one of the ornaments on my tree as I walk by it, turn up the Christmas music, and then unpack the ingredients for some other decadent sweet treat I’ll make. Buckeyes are next on the menu, (a.k.a. chocolate peanut butter balls).
Yes, we’re strange creatures, we are, but there’s one thing the majority of us can agree on, no matter how stir crazy we might get: There’s no place like home. There just isn’t. Especially at the holidays.
Well…time for a couple of those cookies.