Chain Reaction

Today I got around to a lot of things that I have been putting off for a long time. Not exactly on purpose. I started out with the intention of getting rid of an old wheel barrow and hose-holder project. I ended up painting the garage door, fixing shingles on the roof, caulking flashing, cleaning the gutters, and cleaning between the shrubs and the house so I could spray for spiders.
This is Jerry’s rule: Any time you intend to fix one thing a chain reaction occurs requiring you to do a lot more. That’s what happened to me.
Five years ago my next door neighbor was having a yard sale in preparation for moving away. I went over to snoop and ended up buying an old wheel barrow with a flat tire and hose holder- one of those gadgets that roll up the hose neatly, I don’t know what they are called- that needed a new connector. They sat abandoned in the side yard ever since. This morning I decided to do something about them.
Before taking a trip to the hardware store, I thought I should check the roof in case I needed any Black Jack patch. Of course, I did. One thing led to another. How tedious it would be to explain how I ended up painting a door before I could fix a shingle.
The point is: I not only did those dozen things, they weren’t half as difficult as all the effort I put into avoiding them. I put in a full day's work and I’m hardly even tired. If I worked like that again tomorrow, I would be caught up with all my home maintenance.
Or I might just sleep in. So what if the spiders live another day?
Nancy Sherer