I broke up with a boyfriend over a metal shelf. We were trying to put it together in the basement. He got mad and bent the frame in two with his bare hands. Although it may sound Incredible Hulk-ish, the thing was so chintzy that I could have done it with one hand. But why would I? It’s a shelf.
It was also a straw, the last one. It is interesting to me how I choose to live with intolerables for years and then all of the sudden... I’m done. Time served. Lesson learned. Move on. This man was angry. He would go into rages. His son and I would sit there holding hands and our breath until it would pass. Then he would act like nothing happened and wonder what was wrong with us.
I was scared of him, but I didn’t trust myself. Now as I look back, I wish I had gotten out sooner, much sooner. However, I accept that I couldn’t. I did the very best I could do at the time.
I would rather go to the dentist than put IKEA furniture together. I cannot believe there are some people that actually enjoy such a thing. They consider it “fun.” Not me. When I’ve been running around, making decisions, and schlepping it home, the last thing I want to do is put the darn thing together.
The directions overwhelm me. Something as simple as connecting this with that has been so detailed out it confuses me. The simple appears far too complex, so I don’t use them. Then when I need them, I have no idea where I am in the whole scheme of things.
Do you remember the test we all took at least once while serving time as a student… at the top it said, “Do Not Take This Test.” The teacher stressed the importance of reading the directions thoroughly. Was your pencil down or was your head down? Were you already a few questions into it by the time the gig was up? I know I was. By the time my head came up, everyone was staring at us. I am not unique, nor am I ever alone.
“Gadgety-fixity” types get off on that IKEA stuff. I must admit I like that in a person. They can put anything together and fix just about everything. If they don’t know how…they figure it out. They work on cars, disposals, gutters, computers and even guitars.
However, there is one combination I avoid… a “gadgety-fixity” crossed with a “clutter-keeper.” Trust me. They never throw or give anything away. They rationalize keeping everything because they will fix it one day (they really mean to and worse yet they can)
But the projects pile up. Everything they come across on the side of the road is gonna be something golden. They create fantastic detailed solutions for issues I didn’t even know I had. These hybrid-types are going to make this, fix that, put this with that and turn it into this or that. The result is rooms lined with stuff like wallpaper. They see potential in everything. I must remember that- the glass is always half full.
Everyone and everything does have its positives and negatives. I don’t want to discuss how to get the mattress up the stairs. I just want to get the mattress up the stairs. I don’t want to map it out. I don’t want to discuss all the possible problems and their solutions… problems I don’t know I have or will ever have.
In the moment, I’ll figure it out. However, that does leave some poor souls wrestling with a piece of furniture in a corner or on the stairs. One is pinned to the wall and one is blue-in-the-face. I’m better off staying out of it entirely I suppose. I had a box spring in my garage until I sold it because I never did figure out how to get it up to the bedroom. Options were discussed.
Mine idea was to move the bedroom to the living room and vice-versa. The other involved cutting out a part of the ceiling. It could have been done, but I opted for buying an entirely different bed frame requiring the mattress only. I have a bed that I like and no hole in the ceiling that may or may not get fixed. Case closed, but that's me.
I am rarely able to fix what is broken, let alone what isn’t. I fixed a cord that had an on-off switch for a lamp once. I have fixed some broken things. It does take a considerable amount of patience, knowledge, effort and most of all... time. I’m certainly not going to try fixing what isn’t broken. I have a list of things that are- the rubber flooring of my garage, the light over the back door, a gutter, the ladder that is permanently attached to my house and electrical wires overgrown with vines from the fence( left over from "a project"), the tail light on my car, a buzz in one of the frets of my guitar, and so on. I'll address these, and others as they arise. I would rather move on to repairing broken hearts and dreams, mine and anyone else I can positively affect, not by “trying” but bybeing. Honor Your Truth!
This was just charming AND well written. You're doing a damned good job being you. It's got some of the most powerful healing qualities, doesn't it, honoring your truth?
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