For Want of a Nail

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost;
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost;
For want of a horse, the rider was lost;
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
                  ~Benjamin Franklin

(Ol' Ben didn't write that.  He just quoted his own version of the proverb, and I have quoted him.)

I will again apologize for the way my brain works.  I think in associations, bringing lessons and learning together in my brain because I find that it helps me (and others) see in ever-increasing circles of understanding.  When I was still teaching, I used examples in life to bring a theme in literature home.  Some of my students appreciated it; some were totally frustrated that I would interrupt their comprehension with details.  Still others actually learned what I was trying to impart: that there is no point in studying literature if it can't be applied to our experiences or stretch our horizons beyond the comfortable.

So, what launched the horse-shoe nail proverb in my head?  A garbage bag.

Friday is garbage collection day on Walton Drive.  I'd missed the last couple of weeks of collection, so I was very happy with myself when I got the cans out to the curb before the trash truck came this week.  I was on such a mission to get the full bags out of the house that I didn't take the time to put clean/empty ones in the various receptacles inside.  I'll take care of this first, then do the other later. How many times do I tell myself those very words, but "later" only comes when it's forced on me?? Let me just skip to the punchline:  there is a rotting head of lettuce on my counter right now because I STILL haven't put a bag in the trash can!  (The lettuce was already bad enough to remove from the refrigerator but never made it past the counter BECAUSE OF NO BAG IN THE CAN.)

Okay...so I'm bad, but I'm betting that I'm not alone in this.  Take this little quiz.  If you answer yes to any of the questions, you belong in my club.
1.  Are there dirty dishes in your sink because the clean ones haven't been unloaded from the dishwasher yet?
2.  Have you left clean (wet) clothes in the washing machine longer than advisable because the dryer wasn't unloaded yet?
3.  Have you removed clean clothes from the dryer, only to dump them on the couch and let them wrinkle because you didn't take care of them properly by the next time you needed to use the dryer?
4.  Have you seen food (popcorn, potato chips, Cheerios--fill in the blank) spilled on the floor but didn't pick it up until someone stepped on it and made a zillion tiny pieces being tracked all over the house, out of what was originally just one piece?

Are you having an "Aha Moment"?  You know you are!

Invariably, when I finally get around to doing some small task that I've put off for awhile, I am amazed at 1) what a short time it takes to accomplish, and 2) what a huge difference it makes in the way I feel or the way things look.  Why didn't I do it earlier??  I have no clue!

The lesson here is that one thing depends on another.  An avalanche starts as a snowflake.  Do it NOW or face the consequences later.

For want of a nail......