: blessings in disguise :

We don’t always recognize them, but they’re around. Ordinary stuff becomes extraordinary when you think about it. Maybe not in the financial sense, which is disappointing, but in the notional. The abstract.

Take the human bladder, an overlooked and undervalued structure. The bladder is mankind’s most powerful motivator. If it wasn’t for the urgent need to pee, we’d never get out of bed in the morning. We’d languish there until lunchtime — or brunch for the uppity go-getter — then relocate to the couch with a bag of donuts and a beer helmet until it’s bedtime again.

But thanks to that membranous sac of urine, we’re forced to get off our asses and get moving at regular intervals. I, for one, am very grateful for the, um encouragement.

And let’s not forget deadlines. Here again, I’m in the minority. Most everyone else resents time limits, but you know what? We should worship them. Nothing gets done without a hard and fast deadline. We postpone and defer and detour, we forget, anything to avoid tackling the job at hand. Could be defusing a bomb, could be doing the laundry, we’ll wait until the last possible second.

Deadlines are like a test proctor, announcing ‘time,’ telling us to put down the pencil and step away from the desk. That helps, but I have the mindset of a criminal and keep returning to the scene of the crime with changes. Long after the piece is published and forgotten, I’m still revising.

Without a cut off point, you’d be staring at an empty computer screen and I’d be debating the merits of bladders as a topic. Is it in poor taste? Where does Emily Post stand? Is she still alive? Who handles etiquette these days? Wait, what etiquette? Have you seen the Internet?

And down the rabbit hole I go. So, yes, I consider deadlines a blessing in disguise. Long shirttails, too, but only in winter and only when tucked in. Blessings are everywhere¹, let’s find more. Check the attic …

copyright © 2017 the whirly girl

¹ Not available in the District of Columbia or from your local cable provider.