In every task, you have a choice. Do it the hard way, or do it the easy way. The option is always there. Hard or easy. Most people choose the easy way. It’s smart. It makes sense. Why make things harder than they need to be? Conserve your energy.
I like to do things the hard way. Not because I don’t see the easy way. Not because I’m bored and have nothing else to do. Not because I’m a glutton for punishment.
It’s because I like to do things well. Because details matter to me. If you’ve ever owned a house, you can imagine what this means for me lately. See, I could just wipe down the baseboards and call them good. I could just put some things in a cabinet and be done.
Except that I can’t. I’d never forgive myself. (more…)
There were two dogwood trees in my front yard as a kid, a delightful contrast to the nine, sappy pine trees scattered around. One was bifurcated at the base, but otherwise grew straight up, only small, thin branches sprouting from the top of its two trunks.
The other had broad, thick branches stretched out, starting a couple feet off the ground. Its bark was worn smooth in a handful of spots from all the times my brother and I had climbed it. It was a great tree for climbing. It didn’t take us long to find the right combination of moves to reach its top: a foot here, hand there, grab this branch, swing around here. (more…)
Every little kid needs that person, that someone who makes them feel like the center of the universe. I was lucky enough to have that person in my life since my birth. The one who was always proud of me, always listened to my stories — my grandfather.
Any time my parents dropped me off at my grandparents’ home, I went straight for his lap. I knew it was my safe place. Eventually, I got too big to climb on his lap, but I knew I had a safe place in his heart. (more…)