172. The Fear of Staying In

I could have stayed in all day today. I didn’t get out of bed until about 8:30, which is about an hour later than my normal get out of bed on weekends time. I laid in bed for a while and didn’t want to move. It was going to be hot today, so I thought I should just hide a little bit longer.

I could have lounged around till the afternoon, when I had some stuff to do. I decided I wanted to have some coffee. I walked to Caribou and got a small dark roast for two bucks. I thought about walking home with drink in hand, but I decided to stay and read for a while. I read an article from Mother Jones that I had seen get some play online. It’s called “My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard.” I read for about a half hour and I think I’m only about a quarter of the way through it. That was the longest I had read something in a while. The sticker shock of the bagged coffee grounds prevented me from taking any home. So I set off for Cub Foods.

I thought about the things I needed: coffee, bagels, salad dressing. I only bought coffee (and some tupperware and some Ziploc bags.) I was too lazy to look for the bagels and I got anxious over the salad dressing. I’m not a big salad dressing guy. I thought I should get some due to the massive amount of greens that I have at my place from my farmshare. There were just too many flavors. Would I like the chosen flavor? Would I like to have that flavor multiple times a week? Would I be able to finish a bottle? Should I get more than one flavor? Sometimes shopping for one is draining.

I headed home and made myself busy and cleaned before my mom got to my house. She arrived around noon. We took apart the closet in the master bedroom. The shelves were a pain to get off and not in great shape. After about 20 minutes of pounding, pushing, and nudging, we got them out. I will not be putting those shelves back in.

My mom painted some spots on the ceiling that needed touch up while I started on the closet. Turns out, my mom is much better at painting than I am. I suppose that comes with being a homeowner for more years than I have been alive. Things finished up around 5:15ish.

I had plans to go to a soccer game with some friends, but the weather looked like it was going to be nasty. Stormy summer days are literally my least favorite days. I’m not a huge fan of being overly hot. And I don’t like severe weather either. All forecasts said it was going to be pouring by game time.

I wondered if I should even go, but I’ve learned the best way to snap an anxious streak is to just go and do something. So I met up with my friends for a sandwich and beer before the game. It was still clothes-stick-to-your-butt-and-back type hot, but no rain.

The game was a loss, but it was entertaining. And it’s always good to get out of the house. Weekends are nice when you don’t bask in laziness and fear.