Buttus Interruptus

Has it ever taken you a half an hour to peel a potato? Some days (no matter how well you plan the schedule), are just teeming with interruptions. Thursday was one of those days. I could have been in the middle of brain surgery and it wouldn’t have phased a soul. Either the phone rang or the cry of “MOM!” screeched in my ears. The first couple of times it happens I generally try to go with the flow and keep my cool. “Why yes this is the Carman household and no, I don’t have need for cremation information at this time.” Telemarketers, don’t ya just love them? Then the catastrophe of the mechanical pencil had to be dealt with. Upon suggesting that a regular pencil be sharpened instead of going to the store to buy more lead for the mechanical one, I was greeted with the obligatory teen-aged rolling of the eyes. So when Evelyn wrote “Buzzer Butt Meets the Universe,” in our October issue of www4gaby.com, I felt the comfort one feels when realizing they are not alone.

The interruptions don’t have to be when I am planning to sit down (although instead of “Buzzer Butt” I’ve come to lovingly refer to those moments as Buttus Interruptus); they can come in the middle of those projects that need your undivided attention. Anyone can relate to this. You’re at work in the middle of the monthly report and the crazy wig three cubicles down has to sit and tell you about her newest cat’s hair ball, that just happened to be the size of Cincinnati. Oh yes, I’ve had that happen. Projects involving glue guns also require concentration. I was using the hot glue gun to try to fix a toy soldier when the dog grabbed child number two’s sock. Child number one and two were yelling for Mom, while the dog decided that the best place to hide was under Mom’s legs. Let’s just say that the toy soldier really looked good stuck to the window and my “buttus” landed on the dog, dislodging the sock. Even in moments of interruption, things tend to work out.

I look at it this way, sure the potatoes needed to be peeled for the Irish stew I was making for dinner last night, but schedules don’t recognize when people need you. (Even if you think they don’t.) I can forgo the telemarketers and the eye rolling, but there are times when the phone needs to be answered because a friend needs you, or your child really, really does need a hug. The dog? I don’t worry about her so much now. She tends to go in any direction other than the one I’m in!