Brad Coleman shares his frustration with the rain, and other things he had no control of that threatened to ruin his day.
—
We have had quite a bit of rain in North Texas so far this Spring. Not having to turn on your sprinklers until mid-May is quite a feat. I don’t mind mowing. I’ve always considered it a bit of a retreat, an opportunity to clear my head and zone out for a couple of hours. But one of my greatest pet peeves is not being able to mow when I actually have time because the yard is too wet.
But then the traffic didn’t unwind in the normal location. And I started to get a little anxious about being able to get home in time to do anything at all. I wanted to workout, needed to mow, and was stuck in traffic.
|
As was the case last week, I usually mow on Saturday or Sunday afternoon while the rest of the family naps. It’s not a big deal. Naps usually feel like a waste of time to me and after I wake up I feel tired the rest of the evening. Last weekend we had family in town so we were entertaining all day Saturday and catching up on shopping and other chores on Sunday. I knew that I would have plenty of time to mow on Monday afternoon if I could get my workout done early enough.
Come Monday afternoon, everything at work is going to plan and I leave just in time to be able to get everything done that evening. Hop in the car, head out of the parking lot and merge onto the freeway to find it COMPLETELY STOPPED. Not cool. I had planned my evening almost down to the minute, and a traffic delay was not included.
As we crept along I didn’t think much of it. “Ok, I’m probably not going to make it to the box this afternoon but it’s supposed to rain the rest of the week so I really need to mow. At least I can still get that done.” But then the traffic didn’t unwind in the normal location. And I started to get a little anxious about being able to get home in time to do anything at all. I wanted to workout, needed to mow, and was stuck in traffic. It was all very frustrating. As I get closer to the house, my wife sends me a text that she and the boys are playing at the park. Whew, at least they will have a chance to work off some energy and enjoy the break in the rain.
A couple of minutes later she texts me again. “Max is watching these people fish.” Well, now I feel like crap. My initial reaction was anger. I’m not exactly sure why, or directed at who. I kind of felt like she was calling me out for not taking him fishing more often. I realized very quickly that wasn’t the case and certainly wasn’t a proper reaction on my part.
Which then really made me start to question myself. Feeling guilty much? Yeah, actually that’s probably more like it. Feeling guilty that I spend too much time at work and not enough time doing things with the boys like fishing. Guilty that I feel like I “deserve” my own time to be able to get in a workout every once in a while. Guilty that I take time away from the boys to do things like mow the yard when I probably should be hiring someone to do it each week. Guilty that I get so ingrained in my habits that I can’t allow myself to be spontaneous for things like a quick fishing trip on Monday afternoon. I’ll admit I was probably as concerned about how much it would disrupt our routine the rest of the evening as I was actually being able to go fishing.
As I approach the house I realize there was really only one correct answer. I stopped at the house grab the fishing poles and change clothes and met them back at the park. My wife needed to run home to start dinner so I stayed and fished with the boys for about an hour. It must have been about regular feeding time for the perch because we would pull them in as quick as we could get our line in the water.
Mom was a hero for taking them to the park. Dad was a hero for stopping by and helping them fish. With the impending rain later in the week I was more upset about not being able to get the yard mowed as I was not being able to work out. Traffic just sucks. Always has, always will. I don’t have to deal with it much but it is one of the greatest time wastes that we have. Not much you can do about it.
The rain held off all day Tuesday and I was able to get the mowing done early enough that I still had time to make it to the box to work out. Getting both done in one afternoon seemed like a win and was even more gratifying considering it had provided for the opportunity for the mini fishing trip the day before.
There’s also great satisfaction in waking up to rain Wednesday morning knowing that you just barely got the mowing done in time the day before. Had I tried to wait another day it may be a week before the yard dried up again. Double productivity win.
It made me realize that there are some deeper issues that I need to address regarding how I prioritize the time I spend with the boys. I could probably pay someone to mow the yard every week. But that has always seemed like the ultimate luxury purchase to me that wasn’t really necessary.
What time/money trade-offs do you make like lawn service that you feel you could do but are totally worth outsourcing to someone else?
Where do we draw the line between a smart use of money and being frugal?
◊♦◊
Photo: GettyImages