Kim Wilbanks

This week I had the “Mondayest” of all Mondays. It started well enough, but by dinnertime, I was ready to crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head. I was ready for either a re-do or a new day altogether.

One Of Those Days

The day began as it usually does. I had my quiet time, my husband fed the dog, and then we went for our daily walk through the neighborhood. One thing we discussed on our walk was the never-ending dilemma — what to have for dinner. My husband suggested a dish I had not made in a while—beef stroganoff. It would be a nice, hearty meal on a cool evening.

I met some friends for lunch and then ran a couple of errands. One of those errands was to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for our meal and a few other things. I walked up and down the aisles checking things off my grocery list and getting some much-needed steps in, all the while thinking about how good our dinner would be.

When I got home from the store, I put the groceries away and began doing some things on my computer. I had a few hours before I needed to start dinner, but as often happens, I got dragged down the Amazon rabbit hole.

Trouble Ahead

The trouble began shortly after my fruitless Amazon search. I remembered I needed to clean the oven, a task I had put off for weeks. For some unknown reason, I decided that four o’clock in the afternoon was a good time to start that task. I reasoned it was as good a time as any; it would be finished before we went to bed.

Imagine my surprise, when at around six o’clock, I went to start dinner, and the stovetop did not heat up. Evidently, one cannot use the stovetop while one is cleaning the oven. I had all my ingredients set out on the counter, ready to cook. I just couldn’t. Time for Plan B.

It was already getting late, and the oven had been self-cleaning for a couple of hours, so I stopped the process midway. I reasoned that once the oven cooled off, the stovetop would work again and I could cook our dinner. It would be later than we usually eat but we could pretend we were dining in a European café. You know, the kind that is busiest at nine or ten at night.

While I waited for the oven to cool down, I decided to look for a card I wanted in one of the boxes of stuff from my mom’s house. First, I checked in my craft room and then upstairs, and my husband’s call interrupted me. When I came downstairs, he was holding an empty styrofoam tray, the kind that meats were displayed on in the grocery case.

Oh, no. That could only mean one thing.

Facing The Consequences

My opportunistic, counter-surfing doodle had gobbled up the hamburger meat I was going to use for dinner. He waited until I had left the room, sized up the situation, and made his move. It was over before my husband even had a chance to see what he was into.

The sad thing was, we had nothing else to work with—no bread for a tuna sandwich, no pancake mix, no cereal, no nothing. My husband ended up getting fast food while I ate a blueberry muffin and drank some hot tea. A far cry from the delicious meal we had been anticipating all day.

I was so frustrated with my dog and concerned that he was going to be sick. But I was more upset with myself. I should have cleaned the oven earlier so it would be ready for use when it was time to cook dinner. I should have known not to leave the hamburger meat out within my dog’s reach (Labradoodles have long arms, we never had this problem with our corgi.). My pantry should have held some easily prepared alternative choices. I should have, but I didn’t. I was not prepared.

I pouted, fumed, and shunned my dog until it was time to go to bed. Then I climbed into bed and pulled the covers over my head. 

Thankful For A New Day

Graciously, the Lord blessed me with a good night’s sleep despite my foul mood. I awoke before dawn refreshed and ready for a new, hopefully better, day. Stepping outside my front door, I was greeted with the most beautiful avian symphony as the eastern sky glowed. It seemed the birds were as happy for a new day as me.

My lesson learned: Always be prepared and don’t let the dogs get you down.

How about you? Have you ever had one of those very Monday Mondays? How did your handle it? Have you ever felt the blessing of a new morning? I’d love to hear.