The online behavioral science daily tip had boldly advised through its featured quote: ‘Be brave enough to suck at something new’. And I thought, but I haven’t even finished sucking badly at this one yet. A flashback of early high school memories come flooding back, with teachers and proctors barking during our periodical exams; pass your papers, finished or unfinished!
Here In the present, how indeed can one suck at something new when the day-to-day house chores, especially for some of us senior and homies, mix with unannounced extra things-to-do, so much that they begin to pile up along with the weekend laundry. As this happened, I am reminded of one particular advice which I always give my son whenever his assigned tasks piled up. No use blaming yourself, just begin again, one baby step at a time.
Yet, almost often, that is easier said than done. The past month as example, had been a real back breaker. For starters, the frequent afternoon rains had made washing laundry so difficult, I’ve seriously thought of stringing the bedroom so that I could still wash and hang clothes indoors. When at last, I thought a week-old basket of clothes finally got out of the wash, new ones took their place, from out of town trips by us three. Forays downtown too added damp shirts and jackets to the growing pile. To compound things, writing chores had likewise been affected by our provider’s slow internet speed and still-unsolved PC breakdowns. Being used to keyboards and a mouse, to my horror, I’ve just suddenly realized my penmanship has become almost like chicken scratches.
However, along with these laundry mini tower of woe and tech setbacks have come events which also made the month a tad more pleasant and unforgettable; silver linings, as one might call them. We had a family reunion and birthday celebrations rolled into one, both here and in Gensan. Interestingly, while the celebrators in Gensan were the two senior aunts of my partner, the two we honored here were my departed parents’ great-great-great grandchildren. You could say we covered both ends of the spectrum right there.
At another time, a high school classmate whom I haven’t seen since graduation showed up at our gig one Thursday and that resulted in another late-nighter, one of many. At least for a while, all these thankfully took my mind off nightmarish images of hanging clothes under overcast skies.
While this piece may have found me a bit down in the beginning, because of so many things conflicting with my favorite laundry workout, things aren’t all that bad as yet. Our wee family’s evening prayers at dinner still contain the usual thank yous for the whole clan’s health, safety and protection, even as we extend the same to our beloved extended families, friends, the neighborhood and the community.
Borrowing from Reader’s Digest, Life’s like that. While we’re entitled to rant a bit about a little discomfort coming our way, it’s really counting the blessings and being thankful for all of them that matters in the end.
