I dropped Julia off at work this morning at 6am, then popped down to East Midlands Airport to pick up Number Two Son. He is now doing night shifts as a hotel porter/receptionist and gets off at 7am.
After that we went home and I read some blog posts before packing the laundry and locking myself out of the house
If you say it like that it sounds like it was all part of a masterplan. It wasn’t, but I suppose you had guessed that. Do you know how long it takes to wake a slumbering youth who has been doing nights all week? I rang his mobile, I rang the home phone. I used the door knocker, I banged on the door, I shouted through the letter box. Eventually I borrowed a pole from a neighbour and used it to bang on the window. Repeatedly.
Finally I took the risk of knocking on the door of the neighbour who has our spare key. Fortunately she was up.I eventually woke the somnolent child by going into his room and shaking him to check he was still alive.
After that I drove to the laundry and sat in hothouse temperatures for over an hour. It was uncomfortable, but I had a good chat with an retired gardener who used to do the brilliant plantings we had in the city parks (before the cut-backs, as we always have to say). I took water in with me to keep rehydrated, but couldn’t find it when I wanted it.
Senior moment number two – forgetting the water.
Or did I?
In fact, as I emptied the drier, I found the water. It was in with the clothes and it was hot enough to make coffee, though not quite boiling. Classic Senior moment as my new friend, the Ancient Gardener, told me.
Yes, I know, as I may have said before. It’s difficult pegging washing out when you have uneven ground and a walking stick. When we redesign the garden we will tackle that problem.
To me my frequent senior moments are when I have a great blog idea and loose the idea between the outhouse and the computer…. senior moments how come our parents never told us?
That sounds so familiar…
As for parents, they never tell you anything useful. My father gave me a lot of truly bad advice and I have carried that tradition with my own kids, who seem strangely ungrateful.
Oh, goodness! This post made me laugh. I particularly enjoyed the image of you shouting through the letter box.
I swear I have fathered a pair of idiots. I blame weak genetics nn the maternal line.
Pish posh! From your descriptions of Julia, I have gathered she’s pretty darned sharp, as we would say in Maine. 😉 (Too bad you can’t hear it said with the Maine accent.)
Hmmm… 🙂
An entertaining post. We all have those moments, Quercus: https://derrickjknight.com/2012/08/22/a-really-lovely-old-boy/
That’s a very interesting post Derrick – I was surprised it hadn’t been more widely read and commented on. It gives me hope to see that even the great bloggers of today were once unknown. 🙂
Very many thanks, Quercus
Keep hydrated! Although, I must admit to not being able to get the water on in the community garden yesterday. A system of valves that must be coordinated…to much for me, at least the dehydrated me…
Tricky. The more you needed the water, the less you were able to think about solving the valve problem…
I would suggest using a bottle but it didn’t do me much good. We’ll just have to settle for being thirsty and confused. 🙂
Washing obviously induces senior moments. I spent two days looking for the salt in the kitchen when it was in the washing machine room where it had been used to soak blood off a shirt.
That comment could probably stand alone as a piece of flash fiction – it poses so many questions…
Maybe he locked you out so that you couldn’t disturb him?
Tonight he couldn’t even remember that I’d woken him. He sleeps the sleep of a man with a very clear conscience.
Today was the hottest day so far this summer, at least in Sherwood!
Yes, 28.5 according to my car. Rising to 29.5 at TESCO in Top Valley. Hate to think what it was in the launderette. My sister says that dehydration and dementia produce similar results. If I drink more and still have senior moments I may need to start worrying.