Time Is Not On My Side

It is 11:00  p.m., and I am worn out.

Allow me to rewind the day. I woke up ready to embrace any new challenges that came my way. I would start the day by making four loaves of bread, and was even looking forward to walking to Church. After church, I would bake the bread for lunch, visit my grandma and be ready for a 2:00 meeting. I started the day by working on some marking. The marking took longer than I realized and I didn't have time to make my dough. As I was preparing to leave the house, I was frustrated to recall that my snow pants were left in my classroom at school. This would be my first cold walk.

After Church I walked to my grandma's house. We had tea and a good visit. She shared some incredible stories which I will be sharing through the week. When I returned at 1:30 I started the dough for the bread. My mind was racing with thoughts of the long list of tasks I still needed to do. There were loads of laundry to be done, dishes in the sink and blog posts to be written. I still hadn't eaten, and I was tired. As I was kneading the dough I noticed that the volume and texture wasn't what it usually was, and that it seemed a little more difficult to work with. I kept kneading it. As the dough finally came to a ball, I glanced across the counter and noticed my measuring cup, full of warm water and frothy, activated yeast. I had forgotten to add it to the dough. How could I have possibly missed this step? I have made bread for years, and yet I managed to mess up on the day I needed it the most. The batch called for 12 cups of flour, and I certainly couldn't afford to lose it. I added the liquid to the dough and patiently worked with it until it finally cooperated. I left it with the hope that it would still rise.

I was picked up at 2:00 for a meeting and didn't return home until 4:30. The dough had risen, but now I needed the oven to prepare dinner. I was looking forward to preparing a seven-layer casserole. I purposely chose this meal because it is very economical and can be stretched out to last two days. I enjoyed putting it together and it was in the oven shortly after 5:00. I hoped it would be ready by 6:00 as I had made a commitment to visit my neighbour at 6:30. A seven layer dinner includes sliced potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, rice, sausages and tomato soup. I had underestimated the time it takes to cook through all the layers. It was still not ready at 6:25. Derek, who had been at play practice joked, "Why didn't you just make a family-sized box of Kraft Dinner?" The question was poignant. I went next door to visit, but I didn't let on that I still hadn't eaten. It was 9:36 p.m. by the time I finally had a chance to eat dinner.

Although I had opened my daily challenge in the morning, I chose not to blog about it until this late hour, as the note presented the following situation;

It is 10:00 p.m. and you cut your foot. You need to go to the hospital, but you do not have a car. What do you do?

So now, at 10:30 p.m., completely exhausted and with bread finally in the oven, I am confronted with an accident. The thought of having to wait in Emergency at this time of night is more painful than my "throbbing foot." If I order a taxi, it would likely use up all remaining funds. I contemplate calling an ambulance, but discover that I would be required to pay a co-payment fee of $45.00. Further, if the ambulance is deemed medically unnecessary, I may need to pay up to $240.00. I eventually decide to ask my neighbour for a ride. I know it will be a late night, so I will not expect her to wait for me. $20.00 will be spent on a taxi home. I am discouraged.