Wednesday, September 5, 2012

As I’ve unpacked following my move, I’ve caught glimpses of my TVs.  Not really a TV person, I was hesitant to bring them with me but figured, what the heck, I might enjoy them.  Day after day, I’ve had no inclination to try to hook them up, too busy unpacking, organizing and settling into my new home. 

You may wonder what the heck I’ve been doing in my spare time if I don’t have any TVs hooked up.  Well, frankly, there hasn’t been much spare time.  Why?  Cause I’m a nester, meaning that I most enjoy getting completely unpacked and organized—to the point of looking as if I’ve lived in a space for at least thirty years—within the first week following a move. 

Some may find it more enjoyable to watch TV than to unpack.  Not me.  Looking at stacks of boxes gives me the jitters.  Makes me uneasy, as if the boxes are looking at me accusingly.  And if those same boxes could talk, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they wondered aloud why I wasn’t unpacking them. 

LOL.

So for now, I’m content opening box after moving box, extracting their contents and lovingly placing items where I believe makes the most sense, is the most appealing, the most practical or is the most flattering to my new home.  No doubt I’ll get around to hooking up the TVs.   But for now, I’m content to spend any fleeting moments of rest sitting and absorbing my new environment.  

Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012

Freedom….  Space….  The right to make one’s own decisions….  Children want it.  Teens crave it.  Young adults go to extremes to gain it.  Employees struggle to gain a glimpse of it.  So why is it so elusive?  Why must we go to such lengths to achieve it?  Even at minimalistic levels?

How much is enough?  Too much?  Just the right amount?  I suppose that depends on the individual.  The setting.  And those others who are involved.

For some, no matter how much freedom they get, it’ll never be enough.  For others, a little seems to satiate their appetite.  Others still tend to plunge off the deep end when given a taste of freedom, unable to discern acceptable boundaries for behavior, having been kept on waaaaaay too tight a leash where they were never given the opportunity to make their own decisions or learn from their minor mistakes without being made to feel that they’re a complete failure.

So what’s the solution?  I believe it all comes down to trust.  Without trust, those who are in control will never loosen the reins enough to let others prove themselves.  And without us having trust that others will grant us that chance to prove we can handle freedom, some resort to deceptive means to gain what they want/need.  A good example of both scenarios is when parents refuse to allow for the possibility that their children might be capable of growing up and handling more responsibility.

Does this mean those same kids won’t stumble and sometimes plunge into troubled waters that they themselves created?  No.  They’re human, just as we all are, and need freedom to make mistakes that they can learn from in order they’ll become better/more capable people.  Same could be said for employees and those whom they employ.

Like I said, I believe it all comes down to trust.  Sooner or later, we all have to trust.  And with that trust comes great responsibility, for trust needs to be appropriately doled out.  What do I mean by that?  Let’s use the child/parent relationship as an example.  A parent has the responsibility to allow their children to grow by providing them situations in which that growth is not only possible but also probable.  On the flip side, the child has the responsibility to honor, not abuse, that trust, meaning that if things do get out of hand or they’re not sure what to do next, then they need to reach out to someone, parent or not, whom they trust to guide them on the right path.  Same holds true with employers/employees.

So, though everyone craves freedom, space and the right to make one’s own decisions, the only individuals who will truly achieve that goal are the ones willing to put in the effort to trust, not only in their ability to offer trust, but also that the one to whom they are bestowing that trust will try to honor it.         

Monday, Sept. 3, 2012

Earlier today, I drove mountain roads—something I really enjoy...if…I’m the one doing the driving.  If not, I tend to turn all shades of green as the road twists this way and that, my poor tummy trying to figure out which way is up and not. 

LOL.

Back to the mountain roads….  I found it odd how, on this particular stretch, the warning signs didn’t match what was to be expected up ahead.  You know the signs to which I’m referring.  They’re the ones that have squiggly lines, indicating if the road will be windy, sharply turns or has hairpin turns.  Those particular signs, along this stretch, seemed to be fairly accurate, though there were exceptions.  But…the suggested speeds posted under each of those warning signs were completely off base. 

The suggested speeds got to be so obnoxiously wrong, that I learned to ignore them.  Case in point, one speed suggestion said I should drive 20 MPH with a slight windy road, when, in fact, that road was perfectly straight.  So, I instead paid closer attention to the ways the arrows indicated the road would turn.  That technique seemed to assist me in driving. 

Along the way, I couldn’t help but wonder.  What the heck happened with the person posting the signs?  Did they randomly post whatever signs they pulled out of the truck?  Or…did they have a certain number of leftover signs and were told to use those—and only those—wherever seemed most appropriate on that particular stretch of mountain road?

In all my years of driving, I’ve never quite come across such outlandishly wrong road signage.  Sure, I’ve stumbled across one or two—here or there, but to have all of the signs be wrong…that was beyond weird.  So, I’m wondering.  Has anyone else had a similar experience?    

Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012

Whew!  Well, it’s official.  I’m back up and running after disappearing into a moving time/space continuum.  In the past when I’ve moved, I’m back up and running right away.   Not so this time.  Why? Cause relocating 110 miles is a rather large undertaking.

LOL.

But I’m doing well.  Have been pulling 18 to 21-hour days and am exhausted but in the best of ways.  Tonight was the first time since I’ve been in my new home that I was able to walk to the nearby sandy beach and watch the sunset.  What a treat!  It was a nice respite in my packing/moving/unpacking schedule of late. 

Looking around me, I have to laugh, for my office, though mostly set up, has an island of large boxes right smack in the middle of it that are keeping my desk chair from scooting back as far as I need.  Funnier still is how the subtle aroma of cardboard is swirling around me.  And…I’m beginning to like it…that smell.

Wait!  What am I saying?  That’s just… wrong!  LOL.

Okay, since I’m beginning to like the overwhelming fumes of cardboard, I should get back to unpacking so I can rid my house of cardboard boxes sooner rather than later.

LOL.

Great to be back!