Back when I used to have spare time, I was a very organized person. I’ve been called anal retentive and even OCD at different times in my life. But – it’s obvious I’m none of the above – because if I was I couldn’t be living the way I currently am. Seriously. There is no way – or I’d have a nervous break down.
You see – I’ve been so busy that my ‘office’ is starting to look like a storage unit (our old queen mattress & box spring leaning against the wall, my bike, one of James’s bike tires, a window A/C unit, my suitcase from our wedding extravaganza trip in early August still packed! – I know! How have I not needed anything in there yet?! It’s disturbing actually – but I just don’t have time to unpack it! Yikes. – These are all things currently surrounding my desk/work area. I’m kind of getting embarrassed as I’m writing this! Why am I sharing this?!)
And our closet… well, that’s another story completely (which I will share with you momentarily of course). First – I want to let you know a typical day in the life of me as of late. (Telling you this is sort of a defense mechanism, because it kind of gives me an excuse for the mess that has become my life in the last few months. Okay? So don’t judge me!)
7:30am ~ Wake up. Feed & walk Phoenix. Get ready for work. Respond to emails from clients while eating breakfast.
8:30am ~ Leave for work. (i.e. walk to bus stop and take bus 30 minutes downtown)
9am-5pm ~ Work. Work. Work. Work. Work. Yay!
5pm ~ Ride bus back home. Sometimes read the paper, usually doze off.
5:30pm ~ Eat dinner standing up in the kitchen. Sometimes when I need a moment, I’ll make dinner for us because it’s relaxing and a nice mental escape for me. Plus, home cooked food is so much better than whatever I’m eating standing up in the kitchen usually. And then I get some time with James to talk and eat together, which is always nice. And I feel like a better wife because I made J some tasty food. He appreciates that I think. 🙂
6pm-12am ~ Post blog. Respond to more client emails. Work up contracts. Research business stuff (because this whole running my own business thing is definitely a learning process!) Edit pictures. Say “hi” to James, who is in the room next to me. (Seriously, I say hi about 20 times a night. I just want him to know that I remember he is actually in the same house as me, even though I’m generally paying him no attention. The thought constantly comes in my head – My husband is here. I’m a bad wife. I’m working. Again. I should say ‘hi’ to him. That way he knows I love him and I’m thinking of him. “Hi da bay! Hi James!” To which he responds, “Helloooo.” And then he smiles, usually. Sometimes if I feel especially bad I’ll get up and hug him and give him a kiss. That way he really knows I’m thinking of him and I love him, right?! (Insert nervous face here.) Edit more and more and more pictures.
12am ~ Starting to fall asleep editing. My butt is officially numb from sitting on it all day long. I need to shower to calm myself down so I can actually sleep. I do some deep breathing and attempt some yoga positions. (I’m out of shape. Big time.)
1am ~ Bedtime. (Lay awake and talk to James on the nights we’re both not totally exhausted.)
(I should mention, so I don’t sound like a completely terrible wife – that sometimes I take a night off… usually when there is something on TV James and I especially like to watch together. Or he’ll suggest dinner out – which is sneaky of him but also good of him because he knows when I need a break from everything – and I can never turn down dinner & drinks. But in general – this is my schedule. And he is amazing about it. Seriously – shout out to my awesome husband!! He rubs my back, feet, legs, hands… whatever I need to calm my stressed-out self. He plays with my hair. He tells me I’m doing fabulously and that he’s so inspired watching me work for my dreams – that he’s so proud. And he asks if there’s anything he can do to help. He does the laundry. He does the dishes. He cleans the house. He grocery shops. And occasionally, he tells me he can’t wait for January – when he gets his wife back for a few months.)
Anyway – the whole point of all of this (which I nearly forgot) was to show you this:
On the left is James’s side of the closet. On the right is mine, obviously. Notice how he has two neat piles of clothes folded on the shelf. Notice how he has less than 20 hangers of shirts and pants. (Those silver multi-hangers are mine – so don’t be confused.) Notice how I have one million hangers and about 90% of the closet. Notice how my clothes are not at all neatly folded on the shelf. What’s that you say, you can’t really see what’s going on up there? Well then, here’s a close up:
Yeaaaaaaaah. Slightly embarrassing. But it is what it is. Those clothes are stacked so high that (at 5’7″ with very long arms) I literally have to jump with my arm completely extended and fling clothes up there. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes the entire pile starts to lean towards me because I bumped it. (Times like that – I panic. It cannot fall! Lord knows what’s up there?! I don’t have the time to put it back. If it fell, it would be bad. Very bad.)
So – obviously – I need to do some purging. I know there are onesie pajamas up there from a theme party we went to last year (because I can see the footie sticking out). I also see the sparkle of an ugly Christmas sweater. Occasionally I get a peek at the sleeve of a shirt I forgot I had and I carefully maneuver to remove it from the pile and wear it. But generally – I’m guessing – most of the stuff (at least the stuff on the bottom of the pile) I haven’t worn in at least a year or two. Which, by the rules I saw on The Today Show the other day, means I’m supposed to get rid of it.
But for now – I’ll add it to my super long list of “Things to Do This Winter” – when I have spare time again…
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Happy Friday loves!
