Men have this peculiar trait. Most of us think that we know everything. We can! Most definitely, we can! And as sure as the sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening, there are times when push comes to shove and we embarrass ourselves by not doing what it is that we started out to do in the first place.
I recall doing projects at various times in my life and finding at the end of the project that there are parts left over.
Ooops!
My “I know how to do this” dissolves into complete ineptness… all for the lack of paying attention to the cardinal rule of doing stuff around the house: “When all else fails, read the instructions!”
I had one of those moments this afternoon. While cruising the internet and carrying on a conversation or two, I noted that the house was a bit warmer than it should have been. I went off to the bathroom to shave and shower to cool off a bit – and on the way, I noted that the thermostat was a little wonky.
“Not a problem,” I foolishly said. I took the thermostat away from its mooring, replaced the batteries, and… nothing.
I spent the better part of half an hour attempting to bring the offending thermostat back to life. No luck.
I even went to the manufacturer’s website to see if they had any suggestions. Again, no luck.
So, I took my pride and my credit card to the local hardware store to invest in a brand-new thermostat made by the same company that made the thermostat I already had. I took the purchase home, plugged it into the hole left by the previous thermostat and… nothing.
I tried everything I could think of before coming to the conclusion that what I really needed to do was to install the beast with the instructions that came with it.
And what do you know. It worked.
Dinner was delayed. I whipped up something with ingredients on-hand with no instruction book anywhere near my meal prep.
I can do that.
The better half knows what I can do in the kitchen. I’m a regular McGyver. But put me in charge of something complicated and the next thing you know, I get frustrated until I realize that there are instructions.
When all else fails…
Be Seeing You!
bdharrellauthor 