Why is it that just when you think things are starting to come together....good things are happening....and maybe, just maybe, it's finally going to be your turn for some fun, some happiness....possibly even something unexpected....
...that the rest of the world aligns itself to present a continual stream of obstacles....hurdles....and down-right stupid stuff to deal with?!?!
Take this morning. It's Saturday. Not just any Saturday......it's a Saturday that I have been looking forward to for several weeks....a little tentatively, I admit...but it's been a long time since I really have had anything to look forward to...so the anticipation has been healthy & interesting...
Woke up to sun instead of rain. So far so good. Then the first message of the morning popped up on my phone. It was a conversation that was definitely going to require coffee.
Then I remembered....we have NO coffee in the house.
No problem. The store is just a couple of blocks away. I refuse to be brought down by the early morning trip to the corner. It was necessary.
It's a local family-owned store so there are often interesting "finds" there...especially first thing in the morning....so I picked up the coffee and a couple of containers of yummy homemade broccoli soup from the deli for later....and headed to the check out.
A friendly, smiling young woman was was waiting for me there. A little too cheery this early in the morning...BEFORE my coffee...I was thinking.
But she quickly engaged me in a conversation that was so warm & hopeful that I couldn't help but smile with her. She shared with me about something new she was getting involved in....and the need for the community to get behind the program and support it. Her enthusiasm was contagious....
Now mind you...this was not a young woman that I knew at all...she didn't even know me as "Abbi's mom"...we were total strangers....so I got in the car thinking....ok, that was cool...nothing is going to ROB me of the good feelings of today....
Yeah!
Back at the house I quickly discoverd that the dispenser switch on my coffee maker has finally worn out. Not surprising considering its age.... and the fact that it dispenses anywhere from 10 to 50 cups a day....depending on the season & who is in the house with me.
It's a cool coffee maker....you pour the water in and then as it brews the coffee doesn't drip into a pot...it's held inside and then you push your cup against the dispenser lever to fill it. So the coffee stays HOT and the pot never sits on the burner too long resulting in that "burnt" condition that is so bitter.
So the dispenser switch is worn out. *sigh*
Really no big deal.....except that I didn't want to have to get dressed & drive across town to buy a new one BEFORE I had some coffee....
...and besides, I had a friend sitting on "hold" waiting for me to respond to their early morning message "as soon as I got some coffee".....
I tried to fix the switch that opens & closes the little port that the coffee flows from....no such luck. Then I saw that there were two little screws that held a piece over the "inside" part so I figured if I took that off I could actually see whether something plastic was broken or if it was somehow jammed or clogged.
So I went and got my screwdriver thingy....the one that has interchangeable tips....flat head...phillips...a couple of different sizes...that pop in and out of the handle depending on the job. Flipped the coffee pot over and found that I was confronted with two tiny screws that were NEITHER plain (flathead material) or designed for the Phillips head.
Seriously. That's when I started loosing it. When I pour the coffee in the container it immedately starts brewing and dispensing itself because the switch is stuck open. And I can't unscrew the little plastic plate to get inside because it has tiny, ALIEN screws.
Of course, by now, Jessi is trying to help me out. She really DID try....I probably shouldn't have snapped at her when she brought me a DIRTY towel....but I did.
She'll forgive me though. She always does.
Finally I decided that I would MAKE the dag-gum pot of coffee and just stand there with as many cups as it took to catch it all as it came running out.....
It was actually quite amusing....even though I found myself very tense and unamused....
Then I glanced outside and saw that the sun was still shining....it wasn't raining....and I remembered that it WAS Saturday....
....and I decided that I simply wasn't going to allow anything....not the unhappiness that creeps in & out of all of our lives....not the leaky coffee pot...not even the rain if it decides to show up later...to mess it up for me...
Got my coffee...finally....did my best to help my friend sort through an awful situation...
Now bring on the rest of the day...it's going to be great...
I just know it!
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