Friday, November 4, 2011

"Secret" - Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark



"Hey," he said, predictably from the other end.

"Hey," I replied.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Therapy," I answered. Through the distance between us, I sensed his nervousness. He was silent, unsure how to respond to his wife, who'd just confessed to a mid-day, self-induced, therapy session. Was this a sensitivity test? A trap? A breakdown? A threat?

"What?" he asked, trying to buy more time to secure the right response.

"Therapy," I repeated. Then, because I'm a nice wife who never (by never, I mean, always) does secret, hypothetical, manipulative, emotional tests on her husband, I let him off the hook with a
simple explanation.

The past week has not been some of my favorite. (Although, Halloween definitely was.) One sore ankle. An unwelcoming smell of crap on my lawn. Spending $300 on running shoes. And $100 on a pair of super FLAT shoes.  One sore ankle. The sound of a BB gun repeatedly going off in my house. One sore ankle. A dog puking like a sorority girl. Chapped lips. A treadmill that calls my name in the night. A broken ice maker. Not enough laundry. And one very, sore ankle.

So Peanut at school, a dog that was shut in the bathroom and work that could wait an hour or two. I had alone time. Put my phone on silent.  Time alone with my  grump/slumpy self.

I cranked up Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark (don‘t judge), unloaded my fridge onto my counter, tied up my apron and got to work. With all the angst of my unsettled soul, I mashed bananas, scooped cocoa, marinated chicken breasts, squeezed lemons, beat eggs, mixed in cinnamon, roasted peppers, sprinkled salt, sliced sweet potatoes, whipped butter and zested lemons. I made a mess. I teared up [without any onions present]. And spilled. And grated my finger. And broke a sweat.

Sigh.

That felt good. Not 20 miles good. But. Really good.

I bought yet another pair of running shoes. The dog stopped puking. I bought some chapstick. My ice maker has been resurrected in the nick of [winter] time. My lawn is starting to sprout little green blades in among all the smelly crap. I’m pretty sure my grumpy ankle actually smiled a little at me a little after my swim. And my husband, still scared for his life, offered to rub my ankle [until it feels better].

What a guy.

He definitely passed the "What-To-Do-When-You're-Wife-Has-A-Mental-Breakdown-From-A-Bung-Ankle" test.

Maybe next week when he calls, and asks what I'm up to, I'll test him again with the old "I'm having a breakdown because my NordicTrack sucks and I need a new Woodway Treadmill..."

19 comments:

Michelle said...

Oh Emz, honey. You are only human. (Granted, superhuman in my mind!) But occassional melt downs are GOOD and necessary. That's why we married these fabulous men. They know just what to say, and not say. Thinking of you, friend. :)

MCM Mama said...

Sending cross country hugs your way.

And loving how you can work a new treadmill into the deal. ;o)

Unknown said...

Hang in there Emz…

And I would never judge OMD -In fact I made sure that 'If you leave' from Pretty in Pink was playing in the background when i made out with a boy for the first time.

And I loved them when they opened for Depeche Mode during the Music for the Masses tour. ;)

Hope the ankle is less sore.

runnergirl training said...

Hugs to you. Hope your ankle recovers super quickly! Love the pic....I laughed so hard! :) Thanks for bringing me a smile!

Char said...

Life gets sucky at time but it always, always gets better bit by bit. That's a promise!

XLMIC said...

So that picture almost killed me... I was eating my dinner when I read it... coughed and choked and got rice up my nose from the inside. Which really hurts. Maybe almost as much as your ankle. But no one is going to rub the inside of my nose for me :P

I hope your ankle is all better soon... and that Santa brings you that TMill as an early Christmas present :)

ShutUpandRun said...

Yep, I get it. I cannot tell you all of the manic/frenzied things I have done to get out frustration about being injured. Some are productive, some just downright wrong. Feel better soon my friend. Cannot wait to see you in a month.

ShutUpandRun said...

PS: OMD rocks. one of my favorites.

Christi said...

Love OMD! I am sending you healing thoughts!

Unknown said...

And we come full circle to the Woodway (-:

hope that bung ankle feels better real soon!

Jill said...

Chica....what is going on with your ankle!! I hope and pray I didn't give that to you (ankle pain was part of my foot pain)...let's get that healed up and get you back running. And any time you need a pity party, text me!! I learned to do them well last spring!
xo

adena said...

you.are.my.hero
that.is.all

xoxoxoxo

Kelly Leigh said...

I hope you feel better soon! Love from England!

Sarah said...

Yeah, rock rips right through paper! I hope your ankle feels better soon. :-D

Caratunk Girl said...

I hope your ankle is getting better. That sucks so so much. Any ART (active release therapy) people near by? IF it keeps bugging it MIGHT help. Thinking healing thoughts.

I am pretty sure a new Woodway would totally make it feel a little better though...

Angie said...

:(- sorry it's been a rough go. It'll get better. Promise.

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

I love that when life gets heavy for you, you attack the kitchen and get cooking! I hope it helped. Sounded like it did.

And I can't wait to play rock, paper, scissors!

Caroline said...

hey my Arizona friend
are you better...
I am catching up
bad Canadian friend..I know
I hope things are better
thinking about you....

Mark said...

Big smile! I need to memorize this post as I've been on the receiving end of these types of days, knowing the best way to react and what is going on is simply priceless!!