Years ago, I had a co-worker from Newfoundland who described what we often term “cabin fever” as “shacky whacky.” It’s a delightful description of how I feel occasionally during the deep, dark winter, when the walls seem to take a step inward each day, and the snow that was pretty earlier gradually seems smothery. Recently, that feeling and the resulting action led to my husband sending a text to family and a few friends that began, “She didn’t mean to hurt me….” Oh, yes. There’s a story here.

I was feeling a little like a caged animal because the weather had been stormy for days, taking on a predatory aspect as it lay in wait to attack anyone who dared venture out in the extreme cold. Other pressing obligations had kept me working from home, so together, those conditions made me feel a little shacky whacky. Some grandchildren were joining us for dinner in a few days, and pizza is always a hit, so a run to town to pick up cheese provided the perfect excuse to escape. An added incentive was that I had a special offer for cheese offer that ended the next day. Since I was heading to the supermarket anyway, I added a few items to my list to help with that evening’s dinner. So far, so good.

My shacky-whacky getaway took a little longer than planned because one of the ingredients for dinner wasn’t available, so I had to take several passes through the store to acquire a suitable substitute. With each round, it felt somewhat like being stuck on a ride on a looped track at an amusement park. Minus the amusement. Eventually, however, I succeeded in my quest and headed home.

Have I mentioned that my husband is recovering from six broken ribs acquired during a mishap early in January? No, it hasn’t been a fun time for him. In fact, funny and broken ribs don’t play well together, and that is where it all went wrong—for him.

Upon my arrival home, I entered the kitchen and my spouse cheerily asked if I had gotten the cheese. Do you know the deer-in-the-headlights look? He does.

Seeing that expression on my face, he burst out laughing. Did you know that LOL and broken ribs are an extremely painful combination? We do now. And that made us laugh all the more. I had purchased everything I had intended, plus a couple of other irresistible additions, but NO CHEESE. Fortunately, I didn’t need it for a few more days.

As we sat down to dinner that evening, one of us would think of it and begin laughing, and we’d both crack up again. Afterwards, my husband sent a text to family that began and ended with, “She didn’t mean to hurt me…”, followed by what a friend later termed a rather “elastic” version of my shopping trip. Not being privy to my list, he created a scenario in which I headed out only for cheese and came home with everything but. However, it did make a great story.

As I reminisce about it now, there is a distinct possibility we were both a little shacky whacky that day.

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