Making Pesto

The other morning when I was watering my tomatoes on the deck I realized that my basil plants were growing out of control. So Sunday after church I picked all the leaves that were big enough (and we're talking elephantine leaves, here) and made pesto.

Why didn't I just leave the basil on the plant? Readers should know me well enough to know I'm going symbolic here.

When I was in graduate school, my faculty advisor said that when bigger issues in my life are bothering me, I focus on details. That's pretty much what's going on now. Ten days until surgery and I'm making pesto- why?

Simple: making pesto is something I can control. It's predictable. It's also, in a weird way, a sort of nesting behavior. I've been spending pretty much every day since my surgery was scheduled trying to figure out what I can do in advance to get ready. More importantly, I'm trying to figure out what has to get done because I won't be able to do it while I'm recovering. It also occurred to me that when people ask, "Hey, how can I help?" I can maybe have a list ready to pull out. So here's my list of things I won't be able to do and will need help with:

Yard-- lots of subtopics here. I got the hedges trimmed and the front flowerbed weeded, and the rocks ejected from the rototilling of the garden are now moved off the lawn so somebody can mow (I don't think I'll need to mow before surgery). But MORE rototilling needs doing. I won't be able to lift the watering can (over 5 pounds), so somebody will have to keep tomatoes and all the potted plants on the deck alive.

Stair-related-- no stairs for at least two weeks. Washer and dryer are in the basement. Who wants to do laundry? Upstairs: kitty litter box #2 needs cleaning. Probably kitties will hack hair balls all over the upstairs floor because I won't be able to get up there to clean up.

Garbage can hauling
Getting the mail-- only a couple of steps, so maybe after a few days I'll be able to do this one
Groceries
Meal prep-- not that I'll feel like eating much the first few days, but I still gotta eat.

Stuff involving lifting more than 5 pounds-- okay, so my book bag weighs more than I'll be able to lift. And, come to think of it, my laptop. And the cats (even though they're skinny). And pretty much any pots and pans.

I'd like the house to be clean before I'm stuck in it for several weeks. And I need to get my seminary room set up. And buy cute pajamas. And haul home every book I might possibly need to prepare my fall course syllabus.

I'm sure there are more things, including somebody making sure I'm okay the first few days when I'm still really whacked out on pain meds. I hate not being able to plan and predict. Gotta let that go. Maybe stock up on fun movies . . .? What am I missing?