Not Quite Peas in a Pod by Konnie Enos

Not too long ago I was, as is often the case, out an about, when my phone rang.

I was not surprised to find it was Bonnie calling.

Her very first comment after I answered was, “You’re not answering me on Skype.”

“I’m not on Skype. I’m not even home.”

“Oh.”

We carried on our conversation from there though it wasn’t a long one.

When my daughter, whom I’d been chauffeuring around, finished what she was doing and returned to where I was waiting for her, I mentioned the call and her aunt’s first words to me.

She asked, “How often do you call each other when you’re not at home?”

Yes. There have been times I needed to get in touch with Bonnie and she hasn’t been on Skype. So I have called her. Yes, some of those times she wasn’t at home.

I think I’ve caught her grocery shopping at least twice, maybe three times.

I know I’ve caught her at her sister-in-law’s house on a number of occasions.

There have been times she was at a church activity or a NANO party.

I think once she told me she couldn’t talk because she was heading into her doctor’s office.

Though most of the time when I call she tells me she was either taking a nap or doing her chores. Sometimes she simply wasn’t on her computer because she was either reading or watching something on her TV.

On the other hand, it’s rare for Bonnie to catch me at home when I’m not on Skype.

If I’m not online then I'm probably driving someone somewhere. Or, as I was that day, waiting somewhere for someone who I needed to drive home after I’d already driven them to where we were at.

I’d say about ninety present of the time when Bonnie calls me because I’m not on Skype she catches me actually in my car driving somewhere. Thank heavens for Bluetooth and being able to use my phone hands free.

Not that she stays on the phone. Once she figures out that I’m driving, she gets off pretty quick.

But honestly, as often as I’m going somewhere it’s not that hard to imagine someone catching me driving.

I have, quite honestly, spent somewhere between six to eight hours straight driving all over this city, chauffeuring family members where they needed to be, with barely enough of a break to dash to the bathroom a couple of times.

I’ve gotten so accustomed to being on the run that I’ve taken to stashing granola bars and nuts in my purse so I have something to eat on the run. I usually have to replenish my supply every day or two.

With all of that I can think of only a few times Bonnie has called me when I wasn’t online and I wasn’t driving somewhere. Some of those times I was still in the car, just parked and waiting.

I can think of at least one time she actually caught me in the kitchen doing chores.

And I’m sure there have been several times I wasn’t on my computer because my daughter was borrowing it to do her homework.

My daughter’s question sure got me thinking.

I usually catch Bonnie at home.

She usually catches me in my car because, you know, I’m a busy mom.

We may look alike but our lives are so vastly different.

What was even funnier was the reason for her call that day.

She call to tell me about a show called “Right this Minute” which were apparently videos by U-tubers about their life and such. The one Bonnie called me about was a young mother who did a video about why you should never ask a mother why she is tired. In the video she showed her “busy” life with her two sons and a puppy to chase around.

Bonnie’s comment? “You’ve been way busier than that.”

Well yeah.

I’m not kidding about spending a full day just driving people hither and thither. I’ve done it more than once.

I seriously plan my days by how much travel time I need between various appointments and other errands I have to do.

You should see the amount of effort it takes to do the first of the month stock up grocery shopping around here since no one store carries all the things we need. I have to go to at least two stores and as many as five depending on what we are out of and which store carries it. Two of those stores are at least twenty minutes from the house, in opposite directions.

So yeah, vastly different from Bonnie.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.