A Sense Of Accomplishment

Saturday, February 25, 2006

I've been putting off going shopping recently. Not just for food. A few weeks back I realized I was running low on shampoo. No big deal, I keep my hair really short, so I don't use much. I knew I could stretch out what I had until I got past the obstacle of supreme laziness that guards me from going to a store that is mere blocks away.

Then, my shaving cream started getting low. Then my toothpaste. Then deodorant and q-tips. Then, the be all and end all of hygiene necessity: toilet paper. When you're down to your last roll, action isn't optional.

So I went shopping today. I got the food stuff that I like to have in my fridge (yes, that includes carrot juice...see blog "The OTHER Orange Juice") and I walked out of the store with products to keep my bathroom well stocked.

Putting it all away on shelves and in cabinets, throwing out old bottles with remnant amounts that defy gravity and therefore are impossible to actually get out of their containers, there's a minor sense of accomplishment blooming within me. It's like when I used to take that one day each month and pay off bills. I'd write all the checks, balance the checking account, and know that I was on that day no longer beholden to any creditors. My slate was clean, at least for that short moment. Of course, you get in the shower and, boom, you're already working on the next DWP bill.

But I've got a load of brand-spanking new personal hygiene products in my bathroom. It's a new day. Sure, it was when I woke up this morning, groggy and wondering if there was any way I could put off going to the store for one more day. Procrastination, thy name is...well, it rhymes with mine. But now, after my successful excursion to the store, it really IS a new day. Okay, it really isn't. But it WILL be tomorrow...I don't know much, but I'm pretty sure about that. What I'm certain of is that the next time I get out of the shower to get ready for church, freshly scrubbed and clean-shaven, teeth brushed and anti-perspirant applied, I expect I'll feel complete, with not a concern in the world about—

I guess I should clip my nails.