Whatever Happened to Humdrum?

TDW #53: Humdrum

Picture by Val Francis Using Night Cafe AI

It’s Saturday, and OMG, I hate Saturdays.

You’re probably saying, “How can anyone in their right mind hate the weekend?”

The end of the working week, two perfect days of freedom from the daily grind. The chance of a sleep-in, no racing for the train or bus. No sitting behind a gazillion other cars in traffic jams.

Saturdays ought to be heaven, a time for fun and relaxation.

From our upstairs window, we look out onto a park. There are kids and adults everywhere, playing football, walking dogs, or having picnics. Around the corner, there’s a hotel crowded with people having lunch, drinking wine and beer — They’re all enjoying the incredible freedom that comes with the weekend.

Ahh — If only.

We spend our weekends engaging in domesticity. Domesticity — an innocent-sounding word — is as dangerous as a spitting cobra. Domesticity, coupled with its sidekicks, housework and chores, will suck the joy from your soul. Unless you’re my partner, who revels in the associated activities.

My partner is responsible for the abomination.

I kid you not.

His obsession with list creation is an addiction — a weekly activity that there’s no escaping.

It begins with our weekly menu, and though I wish it would, it doesn’t stop there. It then leads to writing our long shopping list. As the minute hand of the clock counts closer to midday, I grab the car keys, and it’s off to Aldi.

“You don’t need that.” Those words ought to be imprinted on my brain. Have you seen the centre aisle at Aldi? It’s loaded with specials that are calling out to you — buy me.

My partner’s fixation with lists extends to whiteboards — we have several of them. Two of them are in the kitchen, installed inside cupboards.

The idea is that when we run low on something or a recipe calls for something we don’t have, we write it on the whiteboard. It reminds us to add the items to our shopping list next time we go.

FUCK!

I rushed the Aldi list and forgot to check the whiteboards.

I’m stopping for a quick prayer that somebody doesn’t notice.

Does whistling help?

The other half’s cleaning the whiteboards — maybe I’ve got away with it.

“Val?”

Trying to bluff never works, so I don’t know why I keep trying. “You’re not going to believe this — you’ll probably laugh about it.”

Is there such a thing as a Darth Vader Death Stare — I think I’m getting one now.

A third whiteboard hangs in my study. It’s the one where we record all of our must-do jobs around the house — so much to do — and it keeps growing.

I remember life before lists — a wonderful era of humdrum, takeaway food, Uber Eats and DoorDash.

Saturday wasn’t a day devoted to cleaning the house, mowing the yard or washing the car. Cleaning of any kind happened at the mystical time of whenever — somewhere over the rainbow.

[embed]The Daily Word #53 Friday, July 17thmedium.com

I enjoyed this one from Maria as it’s about the critter all Australians love to hate

[embed]Ugly Is As Ugly Does TDW#46 — ugly — (gaudy, internal) (484 words)medium.com