Pandemic Sweatpants

With the last 3 months or so being what it is and has been, a lot of us have obviously been stressed and victims of the anxiety that comes with all this. But these stresses and anxieties manifest themselves in different ways.

For me I’ve noticed I’ve become more easily distracted and even more scatterbrained than I can normally be. Last week I made my way to the Dollar General in Wappingers Falls before I got to work, hoping that going in early would give me a better chance of less company in the store. I was correct.

Now I’ve hit Dollar General a few times in the last couple of weeks (gots out free n easy too, both times, coppa’s’ll never catch the likes’a me!!! … “hit” Dollar General … I’m wearing a mask … sorry) figuring it’s a much safer bet than a larger grocery store, surely to be even busier now. I went to Stop N Shop the first weekend of March around when all of this started to go down and I’ve only had to go one other time since, not bad, I stop at PetSmart, also early, when Bella and the Unintentionals needs arise and Dollar General is a bit of a grocery and an everything place, plenty of paper products, cleaning supplies, small home goods (for instance I picked up a new shower curtain before my current one develops it’s own, possibly, sentient ecosystem), stuff to keep Steve not stinky, also cat food and litter if need be etc. It serves most needs. Yes, there are some things they just don’t have there but I can certainly manage … at least until my freezer is empty.

Plus, it has one dollar cans of comfort food in the grocery section … ya can’t go wrong with Beefaroni and Spaghetti O’s for just a buck now can ya? And they have a dollar aisle that can’t be beat. I got toothpaste, aluminum foil, some flimsy rolls of toilet paper that will last, probably, for about only 2 sitdowns and even a hot sauce I’ve never tried, Louisiana Hot Sauce, but, with that, I probably should have considered a couple of extra rolls of the flimsy toilet paper, just in case. When it comes to the more noticeable scatterbrainyness I was talking of earlier though I realized when I got home that I had forgotten like half a dozen things, all of which were on a list, a list I took some time with actually, in my phone … in the car. And I didn’t even think about it, at all.

Also, when I was checking out I said to the cashier.

“(sigh) Do you know what I just did?”

“No, what’s that?”

“I just checked 3 pockets with my right hand for the keys that are in my left (double sigh)”

But with the weather finally picking up lately, finally being consistent, not the roller coaster of temp changes and crappiness alternating with brief kinda Ok, maybe our moods have improved a bit as well, easing some of the apprehension, even if only a touch. I’ll take just a touch.

I did realize one thing today though. With it being warmer now I’m gonna have to retire my pandemic sweats for the time being. I call them my pandemic sweats because I’ve been wearing just one single pair of sweatpants to work (yes I’ve been working the whole time, radio doesn’t shut down), 5 days a week, for what, going on 10 weeks now, and the same 5 shirts (though I do change up the days I wear which of the said 5 … I know, bold huh?) with a wash of all on Saturday’s. Oh, and that? Laundry is SOOOO much easier now.