A post in which it is a stressful, but good, day

It was stressful at work today, as is usual for the first day of the month. I have a bunch of reports that hit my desk to be sorted and stored, and then I have to use that data to produce my monthly reports. This has become an increasing challenge as monthly reports keep getting added.

I’m usually better prepared to start the week than I was today. But I had no fruit in the house for lunch since I was too sorry to go to the store last night. That entailed a run through the store this morning that was fortunately and mercifully swift.

So I got into the office and began the process. But then I had to leave to go to the bank to do my re-financing paperwork on the house. That went very well – even better than I expected. It looks like I am just on the cusp of not having to worry about money for the first time since I moved out from home. That is an amazingly wonderful thought. I mean I won’t be rich, and I’m not going on any junkets to Europe (as if I would anyway), but I won’t have to worry about debt and paying the monthly bills. That will be a welcome and refreshing change for yours truly. But that trip to the bank, as great as it was, still ate my lunch hour. I’m always more stressed when I don’t get that precious hour away from my desk. By the end of the day, despite the fact that I was bringing order to chaos, as is my forte, I was still feeling pretty frazzled around the edges.

Jason and I weren’t supposed to see each other until tomorrow, but he called about coming over tonight. I wanted to see him too, but had been having an internal debate with myself about the state of the house and the need to cook and shop tonight. I had decided I would do the cooking and then run over the house so that I would be ready for tomorrow, but he told me he didn’t mind just coming to hang out while I cook. I love to have someone to talk to while I’m in the kitchen, but I wouldn’t have asked him over for that. It just isn’t a second (third?) date kind of thing to do. But since he was OK with that, I told him to come on over.

I ran through the store, did the shopping, put everything away, and had started cooking when he knocked. He picked up some take-away, which was nice. He’s all stressed about my paying for breakfast yesterday for some reason. I told him that free breakfast is part of the package when I’m treated as well as he treated me Saturday night/Sunday morning, but he was having none of it. We talked all through the cooking. I was struck again by how natural it feels to just have him at the house, to be in his company. He’s such good company, and so easy to talk to. Before I knew it, I was done with my lunches for the week.

I made an experimental buttermilk Alfredo sauce tonight, adding several kinds of cheese and some reduced white wine. I poured the sauce over a mixture of sautéed onions, broccoli, spinach, carrots, and green peas with Farfalle pasta, for kind of a bastardized pasta primavera. It turned out pretty damn scrummy, I have to say.

We ate a combined supper of what I cooked and things he brought. I turned on the telly, but we ended up watching very little. We just talked and enjoyed each other. I invited him to stay, and he did. It was a very nice evening.