Someone asked me, "What do you do in your free time?"

HA HA HA HA.

I'm laughing not because I'm the typical overstressed, overscheduled, over-appointmented, never-say-no-to-any-committee type of Superwoman you hear about. 

I'm not. 

I've learned that I'm not to be trusted to show up to meetings on time or get things accomplished or benefit an organization in any way, so the word no is a key member of my vocabulary.

No, I'm laughing because I spent "spring break" down in my hometown, taking care of my parents' house, business and three dogs while they and my brother and his family spent 18 days in Hollywood, Fla.

Since packing for my "staycation" down in Piddlyville is another story for another blog entry, I'll spare you.

I did think that, since my workload at the family store would be shared by two other employees despite its being open seven days a week, I'd have plenty of time and energy left over to read several back issues of Writers Digest (catching up on a subscription I had in 2005), prepare my tax documents for the accountant, work on my novel and see a friend at least once.

Ha ha ha ha!

Here is an example of four days in the life of Mea Scatternoggen that totally illustrate what I did in my free time:

• Tuesday, I lost my mom's garage door opener -- searched hours, ripping apart my car, the garage, my tote bags and handbag -- and, just before dark fall, found it in the alley behind the store. 
• Wednesday I went to a funeral 25 miles away for my partner's aunt, and while riding with him in the convoy, left my keys to the store and my car in his car. So they ended up at home with him at home 70 miles north. Fortunately there were spares lying around my parents' house.
• Thursday I lost my glasses and spent the next 50 hours searching for them. They later turned up in a laundry basket full of shop towels I was laundering for the business.
• Friday morning, as I drove in to the alley to park my car, I saw my big pink foam lumbar support thingy sitting there in the parking space, where it had evidently rolled out of my car, completely unnoticed by me.

So ... What did I do in my down time while my family went sightseeing and exploring the beaches and shops of Hollywood Beach?

I went on a veritable hunting safari for my brain ... and concluded some lost items are better replaced than found.