Donna Scofield - Empty nest brings more fun errands list

I had my errand list and keys in hand, headed for the car. Then I remembered the errand lists of the good old days when I was a working mom, before the kids flew the nest. I got tired just thinking about it, and had to go back inside for an invigorating cup of peppermint tea. Besides, there was no rush.

Oh, I was organized in my Betty Crocker days.

I posted the coming week's menus on Sunday, based on what the grocery store meat and produce specials had been when I shopped the day before. Careful planning went into the task. Bacon and egg breakfasts alternated with cold cereal or oatmeal, never the same thing every morning. The printed school lunch menu was consulted for which days the kids would buy, and which evenings I'd pack sandwiches, carrot sticks, cookies and fruit for the next day. Simple dinners or crockpot dishes were scheduled for evenings with a lot of after-school activities, and on the nights we were all home the dinners were nicer ... balanced and, hopefully, tasty and appealing. (This despite the son who sullenly demanded, "Why don't we ever have anything good, like SpaghettiO's?")

Back then, all the errands had to be run on the weekend. Oh, there were a few things close to the office that I could handle during lunch time: drop off cleaning, stop at the bank. Some could be done after work if I left a few minutes early: drop off a kid for tightening braces or a piano lesson. But most waited until Saturday. The list was usually something like this:

* Hit the two yard sales that advertised canning jars.

* Drop off casserole dish for friend with new baby.

* Pick up my old portable typewriter, repaired and supposedly good as new. The grandparents will be glad to start getting letters again.

* Garden shop -- tomato, pepper, cucumber plants. (Note to self: It's finally do-or-die year for garden. No success this year, no garden next year.)

* Farm produce stand -- asparagus and peppers. Russ loves pickled asparagus, even if it is a giant pain to preserve.

* Drop sewing machine off for repair. Plead and grovel for a quick job. (Note to self: Never again try to mend a tent on a home sewing machine.)

* Fabric store -- jeans patches, elastic, seersucker for pajamas.

* Cake decoration shop -- new frosting tips and colors for bake sale cupcakes promised PTA.

* Grocery store -- fill back of station wagon, knowing it'll be gone by next Thursday.

* Pick up kids, go to library. Help the two younger ones pick out storybooks, make sure the older two don't get "Lolita" or "Deliverance" or "Peyton Place." Steal 20 minutes for myself, if possible.

Whew, home at last! And they wondered why I was grouchy, and dinner was SpaghettiO's! On the up-side, that made one kid happy.

In comparison, here's what today's quiet Friday list looks like:

* Hit the yard sale that advertised TOYS! TOYS! TOYS! (Still trying to fill the yard and toy room for young grandson, Jasper, years after selling all our toys at yard sales.)

* Pick up a Costco roast chicken for friend who had hip surgery. Not as much fun as bringing home a new baby, and takes much longer to recuperate. And roast chicken's not as good as my specialty casserole, but SO much easier.

* Garden shop -- look for container plants that tolerate sun, neglect, and don't have to be weeded or deadheaded.

* Gourmet kitchen shop -- buy some pickled asparagus for Russ.

* Sewing center -- get manual for new sewing machine, to replace the booklet I lost. I'm going to learn to make buttonholes on that thing if it kills me!

* Fabric store -- browse through in leisurely fashion to see if there's anything I absolutely can't resist, even if I don't know what I'll sew out of it.

* Jennie Mae's -- check for new gluten-, dairy- and ovo-free treats for grandson. Don't forget pizza crust and muffin mix.

* Grocery store -- strawberries (no more U-pick for us, thank you), and lots of the items we couldn't afford when feeding a nest of six but can enjoy now that the fledglings have flown. Oh, yes, rice cheese to go on Jasper's safe pizza. And coconut yogurt and ice cream for his next visit.

* Encore Books -- Buy that out-of-print special order he found me, cheaper than Internet; also some of my guilty pleasure mysteries and science fiction.

* Library -- pick up my online requests, chosen from book club reviews. Seldom buy anything from Literary Guild, but their book reviews come in handy.

Ah, home again. I feel like I've frittered the day away browsing for fun stuff. But come to think of it, I'm a little tired ... too tired to cook dinner. Seafood sounds good, or maybe Italian. But first I'll have a glass of iced peppermint tea and relax while I think about the benefits of the empty nest. We might have a late dinner!

* Donna Scofield is a freelance writer whose articles, columns and short fiction stories have appeared in numerous national and regional magazines. The longtime Yakima resident is retired after working as a secretary and office manager in Yakima School District elementary schools. She has raised two sons and two daughters.