Today's intended novel experience was set up well ahead of time, and it was a big one... We're talking potentially life altering! But then, as seems to occur all too often in my life, things went awry... This time, my husband was the culprit. The day before, he started to complain of stomach issues and tried to blame the cheesecakes. However, when no one else got sick and he woke up today exhausted and nauseous, it seems clear that he's caught THE stomach bug.
Now I've been hearing about this nasty little virus for months now, and have been counting my blessings that we seemed to continuously get by unscathed. But now our luck has finally run out. It was inevitable really... The nurse at my doctor's office told me that there seems to be a 30 day contagious period after people's symptoms subside. THIRTY FREAKING DAYS! How any family with young children could avoid something that contagious, nasty, and lingering seems unlikely!
So, with plans thrown aside, I was left to figure out a new novel experience for the day. At this point in the experiment, I'm starting to get used to having to be flexible. There are too many wild cards thrown into my deck for me to really count on any particular experience working out as planned. However, I've come to realize that opportunities for novelty tend to present themselves to me when needed. So when the events of my life led me down to our basement, my path for the day became clear.
Now, I've mentioned that I have a hard time getting rid of things. So our basement is starting to SLIGHTLY resemble an episode of hoarders. What I didn't mention is that I also have an incredibly generous mother who frequently is giving us all sorts of cool gifts that she finds either second hand or at traditional stores. The VHS hula tape: My mom! The tea bath bags: Mom again! Really, a good portion of the things we have in our tiny house can be traced back to my very wonderful, giving mother... And let me tell you, this comes in very handy when you are embarking on a year-long challenge to create novel experiences... BUT, let's take a moment to deconstruct this family dynamic... In corner number one we have me: the mini-hoarder. In corner number two we have my mother: the generous garage sale gifter. And then, alone in corner number three is my husband: the purger of things. So.... Let's just say that sometimes he and I butt heads.
The worst example of this, (from my corner, at least), came after the death of my beloved cat of fifteen years last spring. As I am actually quite allergic to cats, I knew that the likelihood of getting another feline friend was low so, to my husband's great joy, I was actually getting my kitty's things together to donate to the local pet shelter. I had decided that there were two toys of his that I would keep as mementos: his squeaky snail and his cat nip mat. As I scoured the basement there was no sign of either one of these treasures... And, after a slight interrogation, my husband broke under the pressure and admitted that he had thrown both away ages ago due to a little hairball contamination issue... Unknowingly pregnant, hormonal, and distraught, I had a complete and total melt down. That was an ugly, ugly day... But, although my husband has been much more careful about this issue since that day, it's still safe to say that my penchant for saving things drives him crazy...
So, with my poor husband sick in bed, I decided that I would dedicate my novel experience of the day to him and set up an advertisement to sell something on Craig's List. Therefore, if anyone within driving distance to Southern Maine would like a white, compact refrigerator please feel free to email me at noveltyexperiment@gmail.com.
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