MY LEMONADE RUNNETH OVER

There is an old adage that goes, “When you are given lemons, make lemonade.” Well, we all have been dealt a lot of lemons lately and we’ve all been making lots of lemonade. I am not sure about everyone else, but my lemonade “runneth over!”

It seems like we never really appreciate the things we take for granted until they are gone. I daresay that probably no one, including myself, ever gave a second thought to buying groceries, getting haircuts, picking up garden supplies, getting the oil changed in vehicles and many more seemingly routine tasks before this last month. Has it really only been a month??

I guarantee that, after trying to do some of these tasks on my own, I will be a lot more hesitant to complain when my hair isn’t cut quite right, the grocer doesn’t have the exact brand of item that I wanted or maybe I had to wait longer than I wanted for a service appointment. Perhaps patience is best learned by doing simple tasks that you have never done for yourself.

I always considered myself a smart grocery shopper. I do the coupon thing (off and on), I watch for weekly sales and I stock up. Now, there is a difference between hoarding and stocking up. Stocking up is buying two of something essential and non-perishable, like toilet paper, and putting one back just in case. So glad I did that this time. Hoarding is buying a dozen of something and putting eleven back just in case.

I have always been one to put ketchup and other staples back on the list when I take the last one out of the pantry. This is why I had flour and yeast when none could be found on the shelves. This is the responsible buying I have always done.

The thing that has changed for me is learning to not be so picky. For certain items, I prefer brand names and on others I am not so fussy. Jif is the only peanut butter in my book. As far as flour, flour is flour. Same goes with other items. I would get upset when stores would not have my certain brand and I would not give in and take whatever was on the shelf. Now, baking powder is baking powder, tuna is tuna and many more of my basics have fallen into the category of “any brand works.”

My, how things have changed. Now, when I look at the shelves, it is amazing how substitutions, for the most part, have become perfectly acceptable to me; I am just grateful to get the item. Pandemics do breed a reality check, with the exception of Jif that is. As a friend also brought to light, there will be way less stored food in the bottom of freezers and staples stored in pantries left to go out of date and be wasted. We have learned to conserve our resources.

Just because the pandemic hit, our hair didn’t stop growing and it didn’t stop going gray. I am ashamed to admit that I never realized how hard some of these seemingly simple tasks are.

I decided to do my own hair, after all it couldn’t be that hard. As usual, I couldn’t just start slow with a little cut, but instead had to color it too. First of all, the cut. I like mine layered so I have seen it done with a razor blade instead of scissors. So, I got a paring knife…no razor in the house. I started cutting a little here and a little there. You know how they keep checking each side to make sure that it is the same length? I did that, and did that, and did that. It finally got to the same length because there was basically none left to cut! Not my fault, you know how hard it is to work backwards when doing it in a mirror…just saying, not my fault. Oh, how I appreciate my hairdresser!

As far as coloring, I followed the instructions on the box to a tee…well, almost. I got tired of the little brush and trying to work it into the roots. So, I just dived in with both hands and literally smeared it all through my hair. No problem.

I waited the amount of time and then tried to wash it out over the tub. Usually, I just wash my hair when I take a shower, but I thought I should get the product off my hair first. It seems so easy when my hairdresser does it! After soaking my sweatshirt and me and the floor, it was washed out. Now, I also know why she sets a timer when rinsing me. Apparently, I rinsed way longer than I thought because halfway through my shower, the hot water ran out. Did I mention that I now have a lot more respect for my hairdresser??

All I can say is that it is a good thing that we aren’t going out in public now, it will give my hair a chance to recover and grow until I can make an appointment at the salon. I will also be telling her how much I appreciate her and that I have definitely learned that simple tasks are not as simple as they look when professionals do them…lesson learned.

Ron has forever asked me why I pay to have someone wax my vehicles. I remember helping Dad when I was younger. It was a pain, he was such a perfectionist. The job took literally all day. With this extra time, Ron wanted to wax his new Bushhog and zero-turn mower. Surprisingly, the job only took a couple hours. They have come a long way since the old paste waxes. Sometimes you have to re-visit a job instead of holding onto the notion that some tasks never change…lesson learned.

This thing of making lemonade from lemons we are dealt hasn’t been all bad though. I have learned that making bread from sourdough starter is much kinder to my digestive system and is much healthier than buying commercial bread all the time. Yes, it is more time-consuming but, hey we have plenty of time now anyway. There is also the satisfaction of creating something from scratch and getting back a little of our heritage…another lesson learned.

A friend has been starting her own garden plants for many years from seeds she saves from the previous year’s harvest. Always in a rush, I have never gone this route and preferred to buy mine from the greenhouses. Now, this year with many greenhouses and garden centers closed, she is ahead of the game and won’t have to scramble when it’s time to get them in the soil. On top of that, so manhy are deciding to garden this year that the major seed companies are out of stock…another lesson learned.

I have always believed that these preppers you hear about are way out in left field. After going through these times, maybe I believe that they are moving a little more toward center field. Not saying that I want to become one, but we have learned some valuable lessons.

 

We can do some things for ourselves instead off relying on commercial businesses so much. We have had valuable lessons in self-sufficiency. So many modern conveniences make our lives easier, but do they make them better?

I have heard so many folks say they want to go back to a new normal and not necessarily the normal that we used to know. It is a good feeling to know we can do things for ourselves. No, doing my own hair will not be one of them but….if I could only learn how to make my own toilet paper…hhmmm!