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Schedule the pest control ... make a groomer appointment ... order printer ink ... plan the pizza party ... get to yoga class on time ... buy a birthday gift ...
My friend Sue who owns 13 chickens and two donkeys mentioned on facebook the other day that she was laying in bed early in the morning listening to a rainy downpour and thought, "Ugh ... I know I will have to bale out my chicken coop." She wanted chickens.
Go to the committee meeting ... make a poster ... order dog food ... clean out the litter box ... pay the association dues ... wash the makeup brushes ... plan the vacation ... wipe down the bathroom ... help the kids with a school project ... make pancakes ...
Each thing we want, each situation we desire, each detail we say yes to, each thing we want to arrange, every possession we acquire ... comes with a price. Even making pancakes gets us a messy counter of gooey drippings and a big pan to scrub. (Plus extra calories :-D )
Price tags.
Adopt a pet ... take on a roommate ... plan dinner ... hire a pet sitter ... redesign the outdated kitchen ... book the flight ... write the report ... grade the papers ...
Once long ago, a friend said that her friends consistently said to her, "You're so lucky to have a beach house!" as she swept it, changed the sheets over and over after guests left, stocked the 'fridge each time she and hubby used the house, raked leaves, paid two mortgages, hired a dishwasher repair man, replaced the roof, stained the deck, and replaced the entire first floor with new vinyl tiling after a huge leak ruined it all. She said it wasn't luck - it was a blessing - and that it needed taken care of more than her friends realized.
Research flood insurance ... clean out the donkey pen ... make a dental appointment ... attend the kids' swim meet ... walk the dog 6 am ... go to work ... change the water in the vase ... sign up the kids for camp ... scrub the carpet from baby vomit ... find a babysitter ... agree to sex even when you're too tired ...
The card Hubs gave me for Mother's Day read:
"Relax this Mother's Day -
I'll take care of everything.
Just tell me where everything is
and how to take care of it."
Hmmmmmm
Pay the bills ... discipline the kids ... leave for a meeting on time ... shave your armpits ... vacuum the car ... help teens fill out college applications ... sweep the garage ... cover the pool ... paint your nails ... set the table ... marinate the fish ...
Do you ever feel OVERWHELMED by the myriad of details it takes to be a wife, a mom (or dad), an employee, a volunteer, a home owner, a parishioner, a person, a friend, a chauffeur, a cook, a neighbor, a board member, a team player? And yet at one time, we wanted to be a wife, a mom, an employee, a volunteer, a home owner, etc.
Teach yourself how the new iPad works ... update your passport ... learn the design program. The detail list goes on and on. You snippeteers certainly have others to add here. And our lists seem to grow longer.
In 2022, I legally changed my name from Suzanne Rose Singleton to its Italian version, Suzanna Rosa Molino Singleton, in anticipation of obtaining my Italian dual citizenship (which just came thru - wooooot!). Oh mamma mia, little did I know what a HUGE pain in the buttocks it would be to change my name on EVERYTHING connected to my life! (I am still doing it!) But ... I wanted the name change, didn't I? Price tag.
We want it. We create it. We get it. And now we have price tags hanging off of all of those duties and things and situations.
When I attend the Overwhelm Pity Party, I tell myself - nope, no pity party for you. Why? Because all of the details that erupt are connected to all the situations that I created.
Truth.
We are in the roles and situations we're in because WE made them happen. We attracted them into our lives (the good, the bad, the pretty, the ugly). Sometimes someone will suggest something for me to do or get - or even give me a plant - and I say, "No thank, I do not need one more thing to take care of." (Then the plant dies because I forget to water it.)
So let's remember, snippeteers, when we want something (or think we do), when we acquire something - even an item as simple as a fresh bouquet of flowers from the grocery store - we should know it will take work to maintain it.
Simple example of the flowers: cut the stems, fill the vase, put in the flower food, arrange it, change the stinky water after a week, pick up the dropped leaves, then carefully pull the dead bouquet out of the vase and try not to make a mess stuffing it into the trash can.
Whether a bouquet of flowers, a relationship, a new house, another car, more friends, the big important career job ... it WILL come with a price. I guess we have to try to think ahead to place the value on it before we allow it into our lives.
Is it worth the price?
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