Have you ever made the comment that you 'think too much'--you know, dwell on all of those little things that someone else wouldn't even notice? Well then, read on . . .

                 I’ve Been Thinking . . .

It has occurred to me that I think too much. All of my children suffer from the same affliction. That is not to say that we’re more intelligent than most . . . it just means that our brains are always in overdrive. In fact, I am certain there’s no connection between how much we think and whether we’re right or wrong. Thinking can be a lot like eating or talking – more is not necessarily a good thing and practice does not guarantee we ever get better at it.

For example, I recently had to change my TV antennae wire. Now this involved dragging the ladder out of the garage and climbing up on the roof. It also required that I pull the old wire out of the small hole drilled through my foundation so I could feed the new wire through in its place. That meant I would have to deal with the bee nests on the south side of the house and the spiders in the basement. By thinking the job through, I formed a mental checklist of all the tools I would need while perched on the roof. Pliers, razor blade, electrical tape . . . After all, I’m about as clumsy as the proverbial ox – wearing a blindfold – so I didn’t want to go up and down that ladder any more than I had to.

I even wondered what would happen if I accidentally knocked the ladder over after crawling onto the roof. How long would it be before someone came to my rescue? I’d recently fed my son, so it would be hours before he’d get hungry and decide to come looking for me. In fact, it would have probably been well after dark – and he’d have never thought of looking on the roof anyway! I could have told him I was going up there, just for my own peace of mind, but it wouldn’t have done much good. If my comments to him don’t involve food or video games, he doesn’t seem to really hear. So waiting for a rescue did not seem like the best choice.

That means I would have to jump. Which side of the house was closest to the ground? Now that may sound funny, but I built on a hill and believe me – the sides of my house aren’t all the same height! I could try climbing onto my maple tree. After all, several of its smaller branches are brushing against the side of the house. But it’s just a little tree. Only nine years old. I’d probably break the branch off or fall out of it. That didn’t sound very feasible, so I went back to considering the option of jumping. The side by the fallen ladder would be my best bet, because it overlooks a deck. Of course, when I jumped, I’d have to make sure I cleared the rain gutter or I’d end up pulling the whole thing down . . . Can you imagine what it would take to fix that mess?! I’d be thinking that one over for a month!

I think you get the idea. This is what a simple job is like when you think too much. You’re exhausted before you even begin! As I said, my children are the same way – especially my one daughter. Sometimes she’ll call to discuss some project she’s been thinking about. In a nutshell, she’ll say, "If I do this, then this could happen, but if I do that then it won’t be as good. But I can’t just do nothing! I know - I’ll do this before that, then the other thing will go just fine! Unless . . . " Sometimes she discusses the project in such detail that I’m the one who gets tired!

Anyway, my TV works great now. The new wire is in place and everything went fine. I killed the bees, swept away the spiders, had all the right tools and made sure I didn’t fall off the ladder. I guess there’s a lot to be said for good planning. Good planning ensures that the job goes well. Hmmmm. Sounds like there’s an article in there somewhere. I’ll have to give it some thought . . .