Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Is there a spot on the moon?

This week is only two days in so far, but it feels like twenty-two. It's been nothing but a series of missteps, small mistakes, and frustration. Is there a spot on the moon?
Some days I struggle with Jacob and his homework--today I've felt that way about my own homework. I signed up for a course on how to navigate Goodreads. But the course is conducted on a site called CourseSites, a sub-site of Blackboard which is used by many universities for distance learning. I swear I've spent more times learning CourseSites than I have navigating Goodreads.
This weekend, my mistakes were all in the kitchen. I meant to make a salad plate with cold chicken, asparagus, avocado, mango and mango salsa for my guests. Bought two rock-hard mangos on Thursday, figuring they would be ripe by Sunday. Wrong! The one remaining is still rock-hard. So I went back to Central Market on Sunday to buy already cut up mango, and lo! mangos had gone out of season in that brief time--not a one, whole or cut up, in the entire store. We had cantaloupe on our salad plate and cantaloupe salsa. I threw in the blueberries I had on hand, and it was pretty darn good. But I forgot the avocado (which I enjoyed last night). Then I made a tricky Greek flatbread that involves a really hot skillet and a 30% chance of burning yourself--didn't burn myself but forgot to add the half an egg. It was still pretty good.
Friday night I made a ham sandwich casserole--you put rolls stuffed with ham and gruyere in a pan, cover them with butter, Worcestershire, dried onion and Parmesan. I forgot, however, that you're supposed to spread the inside of the top of the rolls with a cream cheese/chive/onion spread. Still good, but now I've got that spread in the icebox. And the idea that I forgot made me angry.
Today I had dinner plans which cancelled because my friend is sick, but I thought that worked out okay. Jordan was coming here for a happy hour with Elizabeth, and I could join them--or so I thought. Turns out Jordan planned the happy hour at her house. I wasn't sweet about giving up my extra evening at home, but I decided I would go. Then she came in a little after four--which I didn't know she was going to do--and she'd had a horrible two days. A difficult problem to work out for clients who are special to her; six bottles of wine that jumped out of the car when she went into her office this morning (only three--all red--broke); meatballs she bought and left in the freezer at work. Jacob was completely in awe of her meltdown, and so was I. When I went out there for happy hour, I was really glad I had--she had changed into an at-home "gown" and spread out a beautiful and eye-appealing array of happy hour foods. I felt bad about ever being reluctant, and I came home in a better mood.
Got to thinking though how much we are impacted, affected, whatever by the mood of those around us, especially if we care about them. Jordan's mood really hit me. This week, Elizabeth leaves us Friday (she'll spend the night with her family and fly out Saturday) and she's living in suspended animation until then--the movers come tomorrow, and she'll really be lost from then on, anticipating that Saturday flight to Pennsylvania. I find that anticipation affecting me so that I too feel in suspended animation. I'm not sure if it's good to be so sensitive to the moods of those around you, or if I should put my chin up and be my own person. Maybe a mix of the two.
Anyway, I do believe in spots on the moon.

1 comment:

Polly Iyer said...

Sounds like it was a good move to go out. Have a glass of wine, or better still, scotch--or whatever. Tomorrow is another day.