I have shared some pretty serious and heavy thoughts in recent blogs, and so, for a change of pace I thought I would lighten up with this offering of random thoughts. I hope you enjoy.
Lately, I have been noticing the smallest of things in life for some reason. I count it as a blessing to be able to go slow enough in life to have such thoughts, even though the reason for such a pace is this leukemia and the associated daily fatigue. For instance, each morning I make the coffee, unload the dishwasher and then walk down the driveway with our golden retriever, Benson, to pick up the morning newspaper and get yesterday’s mail. But let me share my thoughts on a typical morning;
"hmmmm, should I fill the coffee pot with water before adding the coffee, or vice versa? OR, should I unload just the coffee pot from the dishwasher and then make coffee? Or unload the entire dishwasher then do the coffee maker? OR, should I undo the silverware one by one and put each individual fork, spoon and knife in the drawer? OR should I separate and group them and then put them away all at once?.”
My wife hates when I unload the dishwasher all at once, and then put the piles of plates and glasses away at one time, because sometimes I get distracted and she comes down to a kitchen with the piles of dishes out on the counter, and that drives her nuts. I realized we have different systems we work within, different brain patterns it seems. I like to stand in one place, reach and unload all the items at once. She likes to reach and unload and then put away one item at a time. That repetition drives me crazy. I apply the same to the silverware, preferring to dump out the entire batch on the counter, despite the noise it makes that irritates my wife, (so I use a towel to deaden the clanging), but then I group all the forks and spoons and knives and kid’s stuff and then put them all away at once.
As I stroll down the driveway with Benson sniffing the grass and trees for a place for his morning offering, I glance up and down the street to make sure no other dogs are being walked and Benson doesn’t flair up and chase after them, which would get me an unwanted letter from the homeowners association for not having him on a leash. But, it’s my own front yard and my dog deserves his freedom at least that far, right? As I approach the end of the driveway, it always amazing me how many different locations the paper can be, from the middle of the road, to next to the mail box, to all the way over on the neighbor’s yard. If I ever meet my paper delivery person, I will ask him about his inconsistent technique and possibly give him some lessons on how to throw with more accuracy (that’s just the old quarterback coming out in me). However, invariably, I have the same "Ground Hog Day" like experience as I reach the end of the driveway and ask myself "should I pick up the paper first or get the mail first?" Such a dilemma each morning, huh? Sometimes, to help with my conundrum, I even carry my hot cup of coffee outside. Friends have even driven by and seen me standing there in my pajamas (which are really my sweat pants), sipping my coffee and deliberating. They wave and I wave back, stuck processing the question facing me there in the driveway. It’s a heavy moment of sorts.
It’s taken me a few months at least, but I have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that it is more efficient to bend down and get the paper and then to get the mail every time. Why? Because one morning I retrieved the mail first and when I bent down for the paper, the mail fell and scattered on the wet stones of our driveway. So, being the bright 53 year old I am, I determined that bending for the paper first would always be more efficient.
Have any of you ever had thoughts like these in your day?
How about which way to drive the kids to school, or what route to take home from the ball game? So often the answer is "six of one, half dozen of the other" which really means they are the same, but I will sit in my car and ponder for minutes. Sometimes, when my wife and I have two cars in the same location, I will purposely take the alternate route home to compare which route is quickest and most efficient. But then I catch myself gunning the gas to go faster so I can arrive before my wife and prove that my way was better. So even that test is flawed and I can never be totally sure which is the better route.
How about setting the dinner table, clearing the dinner table, or the proper order of getting my cereal bowl filled with cereal and milk and to the table with the newspaper in the least amount of steps?Does anyone else have this perspective, or disease, or is it just my ADD that was never diagnosed.
I have discussed these small personal conundrums with my wife and she thinks I am just weird. Perhaps that is true, but I think that my mindset has helped me throughout my life somehow. I don’t know. Like all of us, I just do the best I can.
I guess that’s what we all do every day anyway. The best we can. I just happen to be a little more neurotic than the next person. Or maybe not.
Amen and AMEN