Scene I. Sometime last summer:
Where was it? My dang roasting pan should be right on that crowded basement shelf. I’d put it there last Thanksgiving. But it wasn’t. I looked up. Could be I’d pushed it from the shelf edge to the back. Grabbing my trusty but ancient step stool, I climbed its three steps, stood on tiptoe and stretched as far as possible trying to reach for the pan …but slowly began toppling over. I grasped the air and was lucky enough to hang on to a post.
Looking around at my crowded basement shelves, filled haphazardly with everything from old scrapbooks to a pair of skates with rusted blades, I asked myself, hadn’t I vowed to straighten and organize theses shelves last year? Maybe if I had a good ladder, I’d do it. Today I was lucky to avoid a bad fall. A nice ladder would make the task easier.
My ever-helpful husband was happy to oblige and promised he would buy me a ladder. Which he did.
Scene II. Several weeks ago:
This time I was down in the basement retrieving the amaryllis bulbs planted several months ago. I’d set them on the cool floor where the room was fairly dark and now was bringing them upstairs where they’d hopefully bloom huge gorgeous red blossoms. I diligently lifted a plant, took a few steps and tripped over a large wicker basket somehow lying underfoot.
Rats! I still hadn’t gotten to my shelf-cleaning project. The basement looked worse than ever, and I cast a guilty look at the shiny new ladder Dick had bought for me. It stood, unused, propped in a corner. What I also needed was more light, I decided. Working here would be much easier with more light.
I asked Dick if he would mind hanging a trouble light in the corner. That would definitely give me incentive for a clean-up. Again he obliged and set me up with four-foot LED lights. The basement now lights up like the Washington Monument.
Scene III. New Year’s Eve:
As I put away Christmas decorations, I still hadn’t touched my basement and realized something serious had to be done. Normally people my age shy away from New Year’s resolutions. We know we won’t keep them. However, this year I made one and, you guessed it, I will organize and clear out the mess in my basement, and since I am untrustworthy, am going public.
By March 15, I resolve to have cleaned and reorganized my basement shelves. OK. Maybe just the back wall.
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