This week, my family having decamped to Ankara for a few days, I have been home alone. I wonder if it can be imagined how much I was looking forward to having the place to myself and getting my head down over the laptop in an extended period of peace and quiet. R&M#6 beckoned.
Monday: came home from work, opened a beer lay down on the sofa with a book because I could. Woke up at ten o’clock and went to bed cursing a wasted evening.
Tuesday: came home from work, opened a bottle of wine and a family bag of crisps and watched crap TV on the sofa because I could. Woke up at ten o’clock and went to bed cursing a wasted evening.
Wednesday: came home from work to find I’d run out of beer and wine. Went to the market to rectify that situation. Came home to find there wasn’t anything to eat. Went back to the market and did some shopping. Came home again a bit tired. Tried and failed to order take-away pizza in Turkish. Made a sandwich, opened a beer fell asleep on the sofa watching The Simpsons (that’s not crap TV). Woke up at ten o’clock and went to bed cursing a wasted evening.
Thursday: woke up to find myself down to one clean shirt. Put washing on. Went to work. Came home from work to find I hadn’t turned the washing machine on. And shirts thick with detergent slurry. Washed one shirt in sink. Hung shirt in bathroom to dry. Went to kitchen to make dinner. Couldn’t find any clean cutlery, utensils, saucepans or plates. Dismantled mountain of washing up. Too tired to make dinner. Made a sandwich. Opened a beer. Fell asleep on sofa watching crap TV. Woke up at ten o’clock and went to bed cursing a wasted evening.
Friday: woke up. Shirt still damp. Took ten minutes trying to get ironing board to stand up. Couldn’t find the iron. Went to work in damp, crumpled shirt. Came home. Had to tidy up because family back tomorrow. Too tired to make dinner. Opened a beer. Sitting on sofa watching crap TV wondering where the week went.
Oliver Tidy 
As Robert Burns quite wisely said,
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men,
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!
It has been ever thus, Oliver! Thanks for the smile you raised on my otherwise miserable Monday morning face!
Hi Debs
I just read that out loud and it sounds exactly like how I talk after a couple of beers.
Funny think is that now the wife is back home I haven’t stopped writing. What does that tell you?
Best wishes. 🙂
Sounds to me like you’re well organised. Apart from running out of beer, then it’s………Erm, not!
I failed to prepare and we all know what happens next…
Hi Oliver,
Sounds like a recipe for getting your writing arse into gear. I might try it myself: lounging on the sofa with a few six-packs on the floor at the side of me. One problem though; have to send Hubby off somewhere for a while – on second thoughts, he might enjoy himself too much 🙂
Hi Pat
I had to try the Hemingway approach, obviously, but on balance, nothing works as well for my writing motivation as having the family back. Ooops.
Best wishes.