I think how your family approaches life in your childhood can set the tone for your adulthood later on. While some parents demand excellence in all endeavors, others may let things slide. My mother and father came from humble backgrounds and even though they never ventured too far from being average people, they always tried to nurture my creativity and instill strong moral values. One weak spot that I've been thinking about this past year has been my parents' tendency to procrastinate.
Sometime in the spring, my mother thought about transcribing all of her illegible hand-written recipes so my brother and I would have them. Since she's not tech savvy, she wanted me to get the old electric typewriter out of storage. The machine hadn't been used in a couple of decades so by now the ribbons were bone dry. Did anyone sell replacements in this day and age? I made a trip to a nearby office supply store only to discover that yes, they still sold ribbons but they were out of stock. Now my mother obsessed about getting her typewriter working again. Every few days, she'd nag me to check out different stores and when I did, they either didn't sell them or they were out of stock. We finally had to order them online.
After installing the replacement ribbons, I got some paper and tried to test the typewriter out. Nothing happened when I pressed the keys so then I had to search the internet to identify the problem. Thankfully, there were some typewriter enthusiasts out there on Youtube who suspected a broken drive belt. I opened up the bottom to find the dried rubber drive belt crumbled into small pieces. These Youtube experts recommended using o-rings as a substitute so after doing my best to take some measurements, I headed to the local hardware store. They had a nice stock of Culligan o-rings for water filters that were packaged in plastic bags which made it difficult to tell if it would be an exact fit. Thankfully, the o-ring I purchased fit nicely on the typewriter and it started working once again after a long slumber.
So after being badgered for months to get the typewriter working again, what happens? It continues to sit on the kitchen table unused as of this writing. I think my mother's chronic pain partly explains her inability to type out those recipes but looking back at our family history, I think it's more than that. What about on her “good days” when the pain isn't as bad?
Procrastination always seemed to be part of our family and I wonder if some people have a genetic predisposition toward it. I recall her buying a Juice Man blender years ago in an attempt to embrace a healthier lifestyle. The machine was only used once and then it sat in the cabinet collecting dust along with a whole host of other pristine kitchen gadgets that were going to change our lives.
My dad, having grown up during The Great Depression, would never throw anything away and a result, he'd hold onto broken or useless items that he pledged to fix later...but it was a “later” that never came. Even worse is when he'd see something in someone else's trash and take it home with him. He passed away over ten years ago and I still haven't cleaned out all his junk from the attic and basement yet.
I see a vein of procrastination running through my life too and try to do my best to overcome it with mixed results. During my school years, I was envious of the kids who always started projects and homework right away but I could never muster up enough ambition to follow their lead. In high school, I once joked to a friend, “I could do that assignment now but I get such a rush finishing it at the last minute.” Sometimes I wonder how different my life would be if I had one of those “Tiger Moms” for a parent.
When I was unemployed several years ago, I actually made great strides in cleaning and organizing the house but having a 3rd shift job has all but killed my free time. I sleep away most of the daylight hours and when I wake up, I'm exhausted. In the few hours before work, I don't have the energy to do much of anything. Then on my days off, I might tackle one of the many projects around the house but more often than not, I can't transition back to being a day person and wind up tossing and turning all night. For many years, my father worked the night shift and I have a new-found respect for him.
Thankfully, there are some things I refuse to let fall by the wayside. All of my financial documents are organized with hanging files which is a far cry from my mother's system of throwing her bills and statements into a brown grocery bag. The thousands of photos I've taken over the years are neatly organized by subject and I've been making some progress trying to get rid of the unwanted clutter in my room. Unfortunately, doing nothing is always easier and fighting that urge to put something off for later is so very difficult.
Putting in that extra effort at the beginning of a process saves a lot of time and energy in the long run but what's most important is that you follow through and see things to the end. It's a lesson I wish my parents embraced a long time ago. Meanwhile, an unused typewriter continues to sit on the kitchen table...
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