Monday, November 14, 2022

 Monday, November 14, 2022

I had another great night’s sleep. I woke up around 4, did my in-bed exercises, and got up before my alarm went off at 5:30. Elsa and I were out on the street when the alarm sounded. We went around the block via Holoholo. 

  I was full of energy. I did some more cleaning in the library. This is a major project. I didn’t remember ever cleaning it. I must have done some dusting when I shipped out the first one thousand books, but I’ve barely been in there since. There was surprisingly little dirt; I kept the windows closed most of the time. I worry about the books getting moldy. We have bookworms here. Yes, they are real, and they eat up books. I don’t know if they get knowledge through the process.

 I had my Literacy Office hour at 11. Only one person signed up. I assumed he was a new tutor and only needed to fulfill the requirement to check into one Zoom office hour. I had no idea why they required new tutors to do this; moreover, I had no idea what they expected me to do. I made sure Julia had their names.

   I was not happy with the way the tutoring program was developing. They were imposing requirements on the tutors that rivaled the demands placed on teachers. They were introducing scripted programs that tutors had to adhere to strictly. Well, I would be out if that were the case. My suggestions would be forbidden, unkosher, haram. Tutors could only do things previously approved by the program director.

  I signed in. No one showed up. I was not surprised. I only found out later the person had canceled at 10 am for our 11 am meeting. I left to do chores. I stopped at Ace Hardware to pick up a new two-gallon garden sprayer, a squeegee, and a garbage disposal. The motor hummed when I turned mine on, but the blades didn’t move. I bought the new one, so I was ready for the plumber if he decided I had to replace the appliance. I was in and out pretty quickly.

     My next stop was at UPS. They recycle packing material. I always bring foam peanuts. I had a box of those inflated plastic bags. I didn’t know if they would take them. Indeed, they do. Great! Something else that doesn’t have to wind up in the trash without at least one more use.

 I had an appointment with the chiropractor at 12:30. Needless to say, she was running late. That’s Lisa. I had an appointment with Adolescent D at 2 pm. I texted him and his mom to tell them I would be late. His mom said why not just say we’ll meet at 2:30; would that work? Mom is the one who recommended Lisa to me. She knows how she works. I told his mom that I was seeing Lisa. I wrote her, “You do the math.” I told Lisa I was in somewhat of a hurry. No dawdling today. She asked what time my appointment was. I told her 2 pm. She assured me it wouldn’t be a problem. This woman has no sense of time. This can be delightful. It is also a pain in the neck.  

I was out the door a five of two. I made it home by 2:30.

  Adolescent D and I worked on the spelling. He is doing much better than he thought he would. When I asked him how much he liked this work on a rate of 1-10, he gave it a three. That’s not good. I remembered what Aylett Cox said to students, “You’re going to do it till you love it!”  That’s the goal.

  I feel great these days. All the housework I was doing had me energized. It was good to know it was not age that left me exhausted but the lack of activity. I could feel my body rev up. Tasks I had been putting off forever were easy to do in minutes. Nothing worse than having too little to do. This experience makes it clear to me that I need to be busier. I thought it was fear driving me. Maybe it is fear that I won’t get all I have to do done. I have to conclude there is such a thing as a healthy dose of fear. It’s usually called stress. I have read there is such a thing as too little stress as well as too much. When I have too little to do, every task seems overwhelming. It not only seems large, but I find it takes more time.

  I was set for the 4 pm session with the M & W sisters when the mom texted me and asked if we could reschedule for Friday. She has these girls busy with athletic activities, polo, and basketball mostly.   

 B called as I was watching Netflix in the evening. I had asked him if I needed a plumber or if a handyman would do to replace the garbage disposal. He reminded me to force the rotation of the blades if they were stuck. It’s the old broom handle trick. I had used it myself years ago.   It’s distressing to see how I don’t remember things. It’s the old-age version of pregnancy scares. Forgetting anything that I once knew becomes an alarm warning of worse to come.