One of the problems with a desire to Do All The Things is that doing things is often messy. There's a prerequisite you didn't know about, or the phones are down, or the Scout store just ran out of the patch you need, or or or. We won't even talk about the times that you try a solution only to discover that the thing needs re-doing in painfully short order.
I was reminded forcefully of this problem today. Getting our ducts cleaned has been on my list for a long time, and it was finally on the calendar. They showed up, they sussed out the situation, they started spreading their hoses and cords all over my house and making loud ominous noises in the basement...and then they stopped.
Every time they turned on the vacuum machine, they blew another fuse. They blew A LOT of fuses, so that I had dusty ducts and multiple power interruptions. This is the way it goes in a 1923 house, I suppose. "This isn't going to work," said the owner. He said he'd come back with a generator sometime in the next week or two. "That's okay," I told myself. It's just not what I expected.
I was going to return a kid's birthday gift (from MAY) when I took another boy to a friend's house, but I discovered that the parcel wasn't really ready to go (no padding, not enough tape, unsecured label). We were out of tape. "That's okay," I told myself. I went to CVS and bought tape. I went to the PO and got the package ready to send. As I was taping down the label I noticed for the first time that it said...UPS. But it's too big to fit in a dropbox, and UPS wants to charge $10 to pick it up. "That's okay," I told myself. I'll drive it to the UPS store. It's just not what I expected.
On my way to the office I stopped at the junior high to drop off Petely's health forms. I talked to the nurse to make sure everything was in order, and as she flipped through she discovered that the PA who did his exam had said he couldn't do PE until examined by a cardiologist. This PA sent TWO of my children to cardiologists this spring over totally benign findings. I am grateful for benign findings, grateful for adequate insurance. Even so, those totally benign findings cost me hundreds of dollars out of pocket and two mornings away from work. Here in August, his caution continues to cost me. "That's okay," I told myself. It's just not what I expected. I walked over to the office, followed up with the family practice clinic, followed up with the nurse. We'll shall see if the promised fax materializes.
Sometimes it works the other way, of course. The second of the two papers I hoped to submit this summer has been held up by stats difficulties. Today my plan was to dedicate a solid hour to the problem, accepting in advance that it would only get me partway there. But! You guys! Inside that hour I FIGURED IT OUT! I should keep a roll of aluminum foil in my office for days like today, so I can craft myself attractive WINNER medallions and staple them to my shirt. The joy of finding a solution that makes sense (and supports my hypotheses, baby!) is more important than the frustrations of the morning.
I don't know if it's the Whole 30, or the August clock ticking (only two more weeks until the semester begins), or the fact that I got 9 hours of sleep last night, but I am feeling like a juggernaut at this exact moment. (A kind, gentle juggernaut. A patient juggernaut, you understand.) I just need to remember that even a juggernaut has to allow for some buffer.
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