I just hung up from a phone conversation with a friend. His partner needed help taking care of a flat tire and so our conversation was a bit shorter than usual. Shortly after, we were texting and I let him know that filling my tire with air is one of my most hated chores! I would almost prefer to change the tire by myself than fill it with air.
Now, I feel the need to justify myself just a little bit. For all of you new drivers, my trepidation began long before these digital pumps that you can predetermine the PSI, and then wait for three beeps to tell you are done. In fact, it started when only about half of the pumps had a gauge attached and you carried your own in your glove box. So, I would often end up letting more air OUT than putting in. Or at least that was my (irrational?) fear. That’s not the point of the blog, but I felt I needed to share. 😀
That text made me think of another one of my odd quirks. I am actually a pretty decent cook. My crab rangoons are to die for and I am known, on occasion, to make a four or five course meal for friends. I have tackled some crazy recipes, I’ve made dishes from just my own inspiration.
But you know what I’m horrible at?? BOILING AN EGG!!! It’s perhaps one of the first things you learn in a kitchen. How to boil water and once they have taught you that… let’s throw in an egg for the heck of it! But MY eggs are often too soft or the texture or color is off. So every time I boil eggs it is back to the Pinterest boards to make sure I do it correctly.
I figure this trait to prefer to tackle the big things rather than the small ones has been with me my whole life. You see due to some hip deformities, I spent most of my first year in a body castbfrom the waist down. As a result I was ready and raring to get to live and chart my own path. My family thought it was great that I learned to walk before I’d learned to crawl. That is, until I started running into table tops or crying for a toy I couldn’t get to. You see, believe it or not crawling is an important life skill. My family had to go back and teach me to crawl.
So, as I write this now I find myself reflecting on my life and all the ways that I have focused on the big project (an actual talent of mine) and not always learned the smaller steps. Many times in life my strong type A and use of my intellect meant I could skip those steps… I have seen much success. AND just as many times, I later learn that I have missed an important life skill.
I have some goals in my life right now. As I have said, I tend to think about that big picture, assess if I have the right tools and then off I go. This week I’m going to ask myself what little steps should I work on? You see, this week I am feeling overwhelmed by the big picture. It’s not happening the way or as fast as I would like. I cannot possibly achieve my big picture this week. It’s too big! And why shouldn’t it be big?! Yet, tonight I am taking comfort in the fact I can accomplish some of my smaller tasks.
Whats your next best thing that you can do?? Let’s take some baby steps and see how far the journey takes us.
P.S. I’m not stopping being a big picture girl all together. Ideas and possibilities have always made my heart sing and I kinda like that about me. 😀