Grandma is trying to decide how and when to go back to South Carolina for a visit. One uncle is driving down there on the 16th, another uncle is flying in around the 21st and I've offered to help any way I can. I'll drive part of the way or all the way or caravan behind her or take her to Baltimore to ride along with an uncle or she could fly and rent a car. The options are numbered and many. Which brings to mind a story.
When my sister and I were young, we had a dog named Abby (short for Abricadabera) two cats named Hocus and Pocus and a gerbil named Midnight (?). One day the gerbil got out of his cage and the cats were having a gay ol' time chasing that poor gerbil in circles around the den. Dad walks in to find the situation and decides to put a stop to it before the cats catch the exhausted rodent. So he watches them go round and round to judge speed and likely trajectory and just as he's figured it out, he puts his foot out to stop the gerbil so it can be scooped up and safely returned to it's cedar lined cage. Unfortunately the gerbil zigged when he should have zagged and dad put his foot right down on top of that darned gerbil! So now, when my mind is running in circles weighing options, my mind always replays the cartoon of that scene in my head and I think to myself, "If I choose this option, am I putting my foot down in front of the gerbil or on the gerbil?"
I'm not exactly Machiavelli, but it works for me.
That was a memorable moment to be sure.
ReplyDelete