You know when you're going flat out and then something unexpected happens that suddenly overwhelms you? Well for me it was the tumble dryer packing up. On a weekend. When Son1 was away on a very dirty survival weekend in the Lake District.
You could say, well at least it wasn't the washing machine, and you would be right, but still, when you live with two boys and a husband who exercises, a lot, it's still pretty bad. Son2 also likes his clothes soft and cuddly, not stiff and line dried and when you have Asperger Syndrome, this matters a great deal.
You wouldn't think something as every day as a broken tumble drier could spark such a wave of knock-down exhaustion, but it did.I've been working pretty much flat out this year with my DysNet job, my Special Needs Jungle doing really well and being involved with the Surrey SEN pathfinder reform. I've been on business trips to Belgium and Sweden and met many new and wonderful people through my work and I've enjoyed it all. Well, most of it, anyway.
I have been energised, flying. I've even been described a few times, rather amusingly, as "Superwoman."
But I bet superwoman wouldn't have been defeated by a tumble dryer.
Superwoman wouldn't have wailed so loudly that her husband hurriedly offered to take the pile of wet laundry to dry at the launderette.
"We live in Farnham!" I cried in response. They don't have launderettes! When people in Farnham's tumble dryer breaks, they just get a new one!"
He quietly picked up the pile of damp washing and hung it up on airers in the conservatory, flicking it out to release the creases like an expert.
I skulked into my study, checked my email and listened to Joss Stone on Spotify asking "Tell me what we're gonna do now." Well quite.
Well, of course, what I'm going to do, once I've got over my mini melt-down, is ring D&G and book a service call. Though the local people can't come for a few more days.
Problem solved, you might think.
So why do I feel like I've suddenly been run over by a truck? Why is it that a tumble dryer breaking has prompted all the not so good things that have happened in recent weeks to play on my mind?
All of a sudden, exhaustion has knocked me down like a tidal wave. I take a nap and wake up feeling like I haven't been asleep at all. Waking up in the morning feels like it's the middle of the night.
There is a tightness in my chest and eating makes me feel sick. The incredible workload that I was managing well now seems like I'm at the foot of Everest with not a Sherpa in sight.
I'm old enough to know that, in the end, this too shall pass. Maybe with the help of a spa day or a day out, if at all possible.
But it just strikes me as funny that the final straw can be something that you least expect.
And just in case you're wondering, AEG, your A-rated vastly expensive Lavatherm 59800 condenser dryer with heat pump, sucks. Had it four years and it's broken three times already. Considering it cost £500, that's something approaching rubbish.
Just sayin'
But it just strikes me as funny that the final straw can be something that you least expect.
And just in case you're wondering, AEG, your A-rated vastly expensive Lavatherm 59800 condenser dryer with heat pump, sucks. Had it four years and it's broken three times already. Considering it cost £500, that's something approaching rubbish.
Just sayin'
