Out of order

Yesterday my mom called me to remind me (in that way only moms can do) that I hadn't sent a thank you note to one of her best friends for the wedding present she got me. Because her friend had just called her to confirm that we actually got the package. Since she had no way of knowing. Since I hadn't sent a thank you note.

I immediately started crying.

It's been one of those weeks. One of those where you can't help but list all the things that are weighing you down.

+ I haven't made any headway on some kind of big & important projects at work.

+ I haven't taken my car to the shop since it started making that awful squealing sound a week ago.

+ I haven't turned in my receipts for reimbursement for money I spent for work in April.

+ I haven't had a proper hair cut since March.

+ I haven't eaten a meal at home in a week.

+ I haven't taken my new jeans to be altered since I bought them in April.

+ I haven't hung a single picture on the wall since we moved in here last September.

+ I haven't cleaned up the bottle of Zyrtec that overturned in my purse two weeks ago. (I have, however, fished one out and popped it in my mouth when I've felt a little stuffy.)

And now, to add to that:

+ I haven't written that thank you note for the very thoughtful wedding present I got from my mom's bestie.*

In short, I feel like my life is a bit of a mess. I thought summer would feel relaxed, with long lazy days and no big life changes (like a wedding or, I don't know, a home purchase). But I'm a wreck.

* For the record, I wrote this thank you note about six times in my head the weekend after the gift arrived on our front stoop. It was a giant antique book of paintings from Japan. All the pages are folded accordion-style, and I could probably walk from one end of my house to the other with the front cover in my hand and unfold the hundred or so pages behind me. Hand-painted flowers, mountains, trees and even people fill the pages, and they're all beautiful. It arrived the day before our first anniversary, which I remembered was symbolized by paper, so it felt very fitting. We were headed to Atlanta to celebrate, so we put it in the car to bring it home and show Neil's parents. Wouldn't that make a perfect little thank you note story? I'm still going to use it, but it's just not as fun to write now that a phone call had to be placed to my mom about it.