Searching for a Safe Place – But Where Exactly is That?

I start this posting on an uncharacteristicly serious note. It is because my father was lost to Alzheimer’s disease for over a decade before his passing in 1998, that I intentionally spend some part of each day focused on mental exercises. As a result, the “use it or lose it” philosophy has been drilled into my subconscious. Having said that, however, I will never be categorized as a true analytical on any comprehension test. I was never wired for intense scientifics, preferring to use the creative, artistic side of my brain. My personality has been the Yin to Hubby’s Yang, a complimentary balance of two opposites. Most of the time, the relationship works well – except when we have mind “far*s” in unison. Then it’s a humorous scenario of “Bert and Ernie logic”. Let me give you an example …

Refilling the soap dispenser should be an easy task.

The liquid soap dispenser in our kitchen ran out of soap some time ago, but instead of jotting it down on the shopping list (which I should have done but was distracted with other things), I snatched another dispenser from the laundry area as a replacement. The weather was nasty and I figured it would save me a run to the drugstore. The resourcefulness of that maneuver lasted until that soap pump also started to run dry, prompting Hubby to remark that we should buy a new refill of liquid soap. A few days later, I was at the drugstore buying Hubby some toothpaste when I remembered about getting some soap for the kitchen. (Thinking: toothpaste to clean teeth … washing hands … need soap … soap refill for kitchen.) Hubby seemed impressed I’d remembered the product when I plunked it down on the kitchen counter.

Then he asked the obvious question: “So where’d you put the old ceramic dispenser so I can refill it?” Hmmm, where did I put that thing?

I hope I don’t lose the disk!

Computing, computing … drawing a blank. (Thinking: I should put the dispenser someplace safe where it won’t get damaged since it’s ceramic …can’t put it somewhere that I’ll forget about it.) I responded that perhaps I’d put the empty pump back in the laundry cupboard where I’d taken the other one from. Nope, not in that cupboard, try another guess. Had I put the empty dispenser somewhere in the kitchen pantry, close to where it would be needed, in a “safe place” on a shelf? The logic in that thought process seemed more promising. After finding a can of baked beans and two cans of peaches that I forgot I’d purchased, during my extensive rummaging in the pantry, I still came up as empty as the dispenser I was searching for. So where else could that “safe place” be?

Hubby wasn’t any help with ideas either. Between chuckles watching me tear apart the pantry, he suggested trying the basement where extra sundries were stored. I dismissed that possibility, since I could envision accidentally dropping the elusive container on the concrete floor, shattering it. Sure I’m forgetful and sometimes clumsy, but I didn’t make a connection with anything down there so I dismissed that location. Between the two of us, we were stumped.

I was ready to call off the hunt and simply refill the second pump dispenser, when Hubby began laughing. I turned around from closing the pantry door to see him pointing at the adjoining counter beside the kitchen sink. There, hidden from view by the dishes and draining mat, was the ceramic dispenser. It had been on the counter the entire time, for weeks in fact, just a bit displaced from its normal position.  It just goes to show how my mind goes on vacation even when I’ve cleaned that counter several times, lifting and moving that dispenser mindlessly while doing dishes, meal prep, etc.

Maxine’s the best!

The soap dispenser got refilled and has been put back in its proper place in the kitchen. I couldn’t find space in the laundry cupboard to put the excess soap for refilling another time. Maybe I should store it downstairs in the basement. That sounded like a good spot when Hubby suggested it. Maybe in the extra bathroom cabinet. When you’re an empty nester and there are so many extra nooks and crannies to stash things, the possibilities are bizarre. If I’m lucky, things will be right where I expect to find them. Regardless, I think I’d better keep up with the brain games just to be safe.