Getting Down to the Wire

Looks like the house closing will take place next Friday.

When I chose the title to this post, it seemed perfect to describe where we are in the house closing process; however, it occurred to me that the phrase “getting down to the wire” made no sense at all taken at face value.  I wondered where the phrase came from so I looked it up in my handy on-line phrase checker, http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com, to learn where it came from:

“Usage notes: In a horse race, the wire is a metal thread that marks the finishing line.”

Then I realized because of my crappy working class education, I did not know what an idiom was, so I looked that up in my computer-based dictionary.   An idiom is:

“a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g., rain cats and dogs, see the light).

I could not help but notice how close “idiom” was to “idiot” so I checked “idiot”, too.  They both come from the Greek word “idios” which means: “own, private.”  Apparently in Ancient Greece an idiot was not someone with a mental disability, it was someone who was considered selfish.  It was a person who was perceived as overly concerned with their private, individual life and ignored their public duties as a citizen of Greece.   Yep, a person in Ancient Greece who did not vote or participate in public duties was an idiot.  

This is what makes retirement such a pleasure.  I have the time to dabble and delve – wasting time in the most delicious ways.  Wait – I am not “wasting” time, I am “taking” time.  Big difference!  I own my time now.  I am using time to my own private advantage.  Some of you may think, “She has too much time on her hands.”  But there is never too much time. When I was working, for 40 long years, most of my time was not my own.  I sold my time to earn money and make a living.  I was not doing what I loved.   I was simply doing the best I could.  Now, my time is finally my own and I use it in my own, private, selfish way.   After today, I will never think of the word “idiot” in quite the same way.  

Anyway, getting back to that wire…I will believe it when I see it.

Inert States

Can we talk about inertia?  Some of you have asked how I am making it through this house purchase waiting period.  It is hard, and it is also a sincere test of psychological health and well-being.  I wouldn't mind being depressed.  Unfortunately, it is hard to be depressed in Florida because there is so damn much sun.  Getting enough vitamin D is not a problem for Floridians.  Depression is kind of out of the question when you cannot help but be happy as soon as you step out of the door into the brilliant sunlight.   It is a little unnerving, especially for someone from Ithaca, New York where most days are gray and whenever I stepped outside I felt like I was crawling out from under a rock.   Anyway, I am settling for inertia.  The effect is sufficiently self-indulgent and mind-numbing, which helps.  I am also eating an amazing number of Reeses Peanut Butter cups.  OK, OK, there is wine, too.  

Let me give you an example of my inert state.   I bought a can of tuna about three weeks ago.  I like tuna sandwiches.  I want one.  I realize I have the can in the cupboard, but I cannot bring myself to take it out of the cupboard and open it with a can opener, squeeze the excess juice out of it, let alone add mayo and swish it around in a bowl to mix it up.  Come on!  It is too much work.   You know what I’m talking about!  I am now a delicate flower of a woman living a life of leisure, and it would require me to get up off the couch and stop reading my favorite trashy paranormal/urban fantasy novel, AARP magazine, the New Yorker, or the history of the U.S.A from 1812 to 1848 that T lent me.   These reading materials are all active and assertive subject matter and I feel like I have exerted myself by just reading them.   I need to save my strength for wrestling with my two year old grandson, N.  He likes to play Ring-Around-The-Rosy and when we all fall down he demands that we all fall down flat on our back and kick our legs up in the air.   He has real style.

That, of course, is an exaggerated view of my current life.  The tuna can avoidance behavior and Ring-Around-The-Rosy are true stories; however, we are pretty active most days going to State Parks, visiting tourist traps, babysitting and swimming in M&MV's pool. The grandchildren really cheer us up, too.   We just need a house so we can get all our things back.  Sometimes we go to the storage unit just to look at our things. Hmmmm, maybe that’s what we can do this afternoon.

I think of the quilts I could be making if I had my sewing machine and quilt frames.  I might even finish that masterpiece quilt I started in 1989!  I think of the meals I could be making for my family.  I could be swimming in my pool every day if only I had one.  I could be making lots of fun decisions about paint colors, furniture purchases, where to hang the pictures in the house, how to set up my quilt room.  I could be complaining about the oppression of endless boxes that need to be opened and contents put away.  I am looking forward to complaining about that.  Considering my current state of inertia, it might take a long time to get the house set up.  

Looks like we might close on the house on June 30th at the latest.  I am reluctant to even post this because I do not quite believe it.