The wave hits

A wave of exhaustion seemed to sweep over us both.

We’d popped over to the golf club to escape the noise & activity in the garden. We’d had a pleasant chat with friends.

The workmen stop early on a Friday. When we got home not long after 4pm they were already tidying up for the weekend. By the time we’d put a few things down, they were gone.

In theory it was time to get on with dinner, but we both felt so tired, we decided on a nap instead.

It was 6ish by the time we got up. Dinner was to be a quick stir-fry, but we just felt so tired we couldn’t be bothered to get preparing the veg. We decided to go to the local pub for a meal instead.

We came back. I got changed. The Fox made some tea. The next couple of hours I sat staring at the TV, too tired to move, being beyond the fidgety stage. Just breathing & blinking the eyes was tiring. The idea of getting up to go to bed was daunting. Eventually the Fox hauled me up, guiding me all the way to the bedroom & put me to bed.

It is noticeable that last Friday we had felt the need to eat out too. Is this a sign of the pattern of life until the garden is done?

Even today I don’t feel I can entirely relax. It’s lovely to have a morning to myself. No machinery making a noise in the background. No people coming to & fro. Just peace. Yet I know I will soon have to gear myself up to changing the bed & sorting out the washing. The weekend is the only time I stand a chance of getting it out to dry. The weather forecast is for rain, but hopefully I can at least get some things dry in the laundry room, which is now also being used as a store room for equipment etc. by the workmen.

There’s no denying this job is taking a far greater toll on my stamina than I expected. I can quite understand why so many old people cease to keep up with updating their homes & only do essential maintenance. I had thought it was just because you get used to things & cease to notice how old-fashioned, out-of-date, things are, maybe mixed with lack of finance. Now I’m beginning to conclude that it is more to do with not being able to cope with the trauma of having the work done, the disruption to your life, the noise, the invasion, no matter how welcome, into the privacy of your home. I suspect this will be the last job we will be doing for a while.

And we will certainly need that holiday to recover!