Late one night, Kat felt like treating herself to some ice cream. So she went out to the back up freezer on the back verandah. Inherited from Bill’s mum, the freezer had come in handy for the annual frozen food factory sale. Kat stocked up on pizzas, microwave meals and chicken nuggets every year.
There was also a good stockpile of ice cream from when the local Dairy Bell store had closed down. Kat was looking forward to a couple of scoops of rum and raisin.
It was dark on the verandah but she didn’t bother turning on the light because the freezer light was all she needed. She opened the door but no light came on. In the darkness, the thing she noticed first was an unusual smell. Then it occurred to her that there was no cold air greeting her from the freezer. Something was not right.
Bill came running when he heard her scream. In the dim light overhead nothing looked amiss, but the smell told them otherwise. The freezer was not working.
Bill investigated the cause. It was definitely still plugged in. But the motor wasn’t whirring. From behind the freezer he pulled out several flattened cardboard boxes. “Sorry Kat, there’s no reviving it. The freezer’s had a lockdown meltdown. It’s gone to God and so have the contents. I think all these boxes shoved back here didn’t help. The motor needs air around it.”
“But it’s on the verandah! There’s plenty of air. I just thought that would be a good storage spot for those boxes.”
“What do you need them for anyway?” Bill said bravely.
“They’re good boxes!” Kat defended.
While they debated the value of keeping boxes, the smell continued to waft around them. In the cold night air, there was nothing else to do but start clearing out the freezer. Kat and Bill worked together, emptying the freezer of its stinky contents. At first they worked in stony silence. But soon Kat confided some of her frustrations.
“I was really proud of myself for having all this food out here. With the virus stuff going on I thought we’d be set”, she said.
“I know Love.”
“Bill, what’s wrong with me? I try so hard but other people seem to manage easier.”
“I know Love.”
“Other people have been baking bread. I have all the ingredients and I’d like to bake bread, but the kitchen’s too messy to start.”
“I know Love.”
“Other people do Zoom Yoga in their lounge rooms. We can’t even both sit on the couch in there.”
“I know Love.”
“Other people are getting things done, finishing projects, starting renovations. All the projects I’ve got half started are still half started and nowhere near finished.”
“I know Love.”
“We’ve had 2 months locked in this house! If I don’t get things done now, when am I going to?”
“I know Love.”
“No you don’t know! Stop saying that!”
“I don’t know what you want me to say. Yes, we’ve been stuck inside a lot. But it’s hard to get anything done when we can’t move around in our own house.”
Kat knew the answer. “Well, I know one project I have to do is get a new backup freezer.”
“No Love. We are not getting another freezer. You‘ve just made your own case for not getting more stuff.”
“But the inside freezer’s full. Where will I put the stuff from the next frozen food factory sale?”
PREVIOUSLY
Catch up on all the past Adventures of Kat here…
