close-outs

Our local Linens-n-Things is closing, so we've been in twice to take advantage of the sales. Yesterday I splurged on a set of sheets that normally cost over $100. I got them for $30. I also bought a new blanket for our bed at a great discount.

I love sales. Of course, I'm perfectly aware that often, companies will mark up items prior to so-called sales, so that the reduction looks like a really good bargain. But in this case, these sheets are fantastic! They're actually big enough for my thick mattress, and the fitted sheet is elasticized all the way around. They're super-soft, too. My husband is happy because the design is masculine (no flowers for Esteemed Spouse--that's been the rule for our nearly 37 years of marriage). And we both like the new blanket. It's light enough for summer as a replacement for the old tattered blanket and bleach-spotted bedspread, so he's cool enough, and it has enough weight that I'm comfortable. (I have to have a certain weight on me so it feels "right." Otherwise, I can't sleep.)

He's still busy getting ready for his conference. He leaves Thursday morning at what his brother calls "0-dark-thirty." The flight is at 7 a.m., so I'll get up with him and make coffee, but he's going to drive himself to the airport and park in long-term parking. If I were truly a devoted wife, I'd drive him to the airport, but to be honest, the school pays him back for the parking cost, and his car would be just as safe there as it would be at home. He returns Monday night, and since the flight is somewhat late coming in, if it is delayed in any way, I won't have to crawl out of bed to go fetch him. I say all this to justify my being lazy and not offering to chauffeur. Shame on me.

Then we'll have a week before I head off to Big Rapids for orientation. We keep saying we should do something--go somewhere, do something fun--but to be honest, I can't think of anything I want to do right now. Being lazy is just fine with me. I love sitting out on the deck in the evening, swinging in my porch swing, watching the sun set. I so desperately needed this summer to decompress, and it has worked. Last summer was horrible. My dear aunt died in May, my niece nearly died of West Nile virus, and I had the Damned Dissertation Disaster. But that is behind me now. Amber is healthy again, and all I have on my plate is getting ready to teach. I don't take that lightly, but I'm not teaching anything mentally taxing, so it's not like I'm worried. Spring semester may be different if I do indeed teach Justice and Literature, as I'm scheduled to. I've already begun to plan a reading list.

So here I sit on a rainy Monday morning, planning to enjoy yet another day of leisure. Tragic, huh? S.