Years ago there was a bumper sticker that said “Happiness is having a handy hubby.” Which is a true observation, especially if you are married to someone who is handy around the house. I was fortunate to have had two such handy hubbies…why I use the past tense is a story for another day. What made me think of this is that all my kitchen knives are dull and I am not very good at knife sharpening. In fact, I’m really bad at knife sharpening.
This all came up about an hour ago when I wanted to cut up some limes to put in a pitcher of water and couldn’t find a knife that would cut cleanly without just smooshing (may not be a word but sure is descriptive!) the limes all squishy and not make pretty little slices for the pitcher. Little set-backs like this always remind me of things I used to take for granted.
When you are single and live alone there are all sorts of responsibilities that might not have been yours in prior lives. Like taking out the garbage, washing the car, getting the oil changed in the car, fixing small electric appliances, moving heavy boxes and pieces of furniture, un-winding the mess on the vacuum cleaner that has gotten wrapped around it to a degree that keeps it from “rug beating” at all, and various and sundry other little tasks like keeping the kitchen knives sharp. I’ve been single for nearly 15 years now…longer than I was married to husband #2, and almost as long as I was married to husband #1…you’d think I’d have gotten used to doing things myself. For the most part, I have. But for those things that don’t need to be done on a regular basis I am still learning to do them myself or to do them well. Hence my rant about knife sharpening.
My pitcher of water is now full of smooshed limes…when life hands you limes, make limeade , right? I may not be good at knife sharpening, but I’ve gotten pretty good about turning defeats into victories. Limeade and lemonade are almost as good as having pretty little slices in your pitcher of life…and it teaches you that being strong is to be able to rise above one’s defeats.
I’m thinking about inner strength…what are you thinking about?
