Dumb blonde

So, in the first two months of (not so different) 2021, I’ve had a number of occurrences that have led me to question my intelligence…or lack of.

The first of which was day two of the new year when I decided to go for one of my usual morning runs. It was a really beautiful bright sunny day and listening to my Dolly Parton playlist, I felt on top of the world. Unfortunately, a couple of miles into my run I went from top of the world to toppling over, flat on my face.

As my face hit the ground and my tooth went through my top lip, I was in complete shock and for a second I thought I could just brush myself off and continue on with my run. Sadly, as I got up and saw the blood drop down my nice white running top I knew there was only one thing to do…ring Stu.

Thankfully, despite still being in bed and me barely being able to speak through my tears and swollen mouth, Stu managed to get to me in minutes, scoop me up and take me back home.

Now, as well as being somewhat painful, this incident made me feel VERY stupid. Not only had I fallen over again (if you’ve seen my Instagram or scarred knees, you’ll know that I’ve made quite a habit of falling over on my runs) but I’d also somehow managed to fall on my face ( even my two year old nephew knows that when you fall over you put your hands out to break your fall!)

That week as I tried to laugh off my injuries and put the incident down to just another “accidental Ali” episode, another actual “accident Ali” incident did happen. It was one of my furlough days so I wasn’t working and i’d been for a walk with my sister and watched some daytime TV.

Now, normally, especially in these restricted entertainment times, this would have been fine. However, for some reason that day I was just feeling a bit useless and lazy. Stu meanwhile had worked a full day, put our clock up in the bedroom, made the sofa in the back room and put the pictures up in the lounge.

Of course I was beyond grateful for all this, but when that night we were watching tv and the hot water bottle I made leaked all over our suede sofa because I hadn’t put the lid on properly, I couldn’t help but feel bloody stupid. Luckily Stu managed to sort the sofa out with a hairdryer but I still felt like a lazy let down.

A slightly more conventional test of my intelligence came later in the month when as part of a course I’m doing, I had to learn about coding. It probably won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone reading this that tech and coding doesn’t exactly come naturally to me. So, when it came to the pop quiz after three days of learning with my virtual class I wasn’t exactly top.

Seeing how well my classmates had done and the prospect of an exam led me to instantly panic and yet again feel REALLY stupid.

So, in the same way I did with the run AND hot water bottle explosion…I went to Stu. Stu immediately made me feel better and explained I wasn’t stupid, I just hadn’t been told the right way yet and offered to help me with my revision.

In the evening we needed to go to B & Q to get some paint samples for our hallway (aka DIY project number 1000000) and randomly some new handles for our back door. When we got home, I assumed Stu would put the new handles on the door because… that’s just the way it is he always does the DIY but tonight he had a different idea. Stu told me I could do the handles and he would tell me what to do.

As well as being shocked Stu was sacrificing one of his beloved DIY jobs for me, I was also slightly worried he was trusting me to do something so out of my comfort zone/ thus so likely to mess up.

To my delight and surprise, following Stu’s instruction I managed to effortlessly fit the new handles. Stu then explained I wasn’t stupid with DIY I just hadn’t been told how to do it in the right way, in the same way no one has told Stu how to cross stitch ( my new lockdown addiction) or do an instastory ( not that he would ever want to do)

So, while over the last two months (and 32 years) I’ve done a fare few things that have made me feel a bit stupid…thanks to my Stu I know I’m not really, I just haven’t found the Ali way of doing them yet.

Ps thanks to lots of revision and practice questions I’m finally starting to understand coding and have my exam this week – wish me luck!

Pps I’ve learnt that when I go for runs to look at the ground, not to get distracted by songs and to avoid slippery alley ways

Ppps we are currently looking for a stain proof sofa

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