The summer of irony

My wife spent weeks picking out a new umbrella for our deck. She researched the choices and compared prices and styles. When she finally found one she liked, she checked it against other reviews. Finally, she ordered it. We like to spend our summer evenings, especially our weekends, sitting together with a cold drink and talking about our day.

The umbrella was delivered within a few days and was easy to put together. You’d think that would be the end of my story, right? And everyone lived happily ever after.

Of course, this summer has been the Summer of Irony. When the weather has been nice outside, my wife and I have been away. When we’ve been home, it’s been oppressively hot or like this weekend, a wash out.

Go away hurricanes!

As you might expect Alanis Morisette singing about rain on your wedding day, an ill-timed traffic jam, and good advice that you just can’t take in her 1995 song Ironic came instantly to mind. Like most of what Morisette sings about in her song, I’m not sure my wife and my “Umbrella Failures” fall under the title of irony.

Irony is something that’s interesting, strange, or funny because of being very different from what you would usually expect. I think we’ve had more bad luck than anything else, but I can still relate to Morisettte’s angst and frustration. Besides the umbrella, here’s a few other things that we’ve experienced this summer:

–I’m a writer, but when I had to write out a wedding card a few weeks ago and then later an important birthday card, I passed both cards right away to my wife to fill out. She knows what to say in these types of situations. Me? The so-called writer? I fumble my way to a response. I write and then I edit and edit until all that’s on the page is Congratulations. Ugh. (Insert face palm here.)

–I’m a picky eater. Of course, the only thing in our refrigerator is the stuff I hate the most. My wife and I have been trying to follow a heart-healthy diet. I’m failing miserably, but still I try. As a result, our pantry is filled with blech — vegetables, and good-for-you foods. Yes, just shoot me now.

–I’m as introverted as they come and prefer solitude. Meanwhile, I’ve spent my summer helping two clients build up their presence on social media and mapping out future content ideas. “Yea, let’s leave it to the introverted guy!”

–The one time I did try to sneak out onto the deck and sit under the umbrella, it came back to haunt me. I grabbed my laptop one afternoon day and figured that if I had to attend a meeting, I would try to get some Vitamin D. Wouldn’t you know it, the guy who lives a few houses away decided to mow his grass and was making too much noise, that I had to scurry back inside. Bah-humbug.

Like Morisette sings in her song, “Now isn’t that ironic.” Or just crappy luck!