Our lives are fashioned by
our choices. First we make our choices. Then our choices make us. ~ Anne Frank
One of the hardest
things for a parent is to teach children that choices have consequences. Too
often we want to protect them by preventing them from making a poor choice or
bailing them out of a bad situation. From the time my grandchildren started climbing,
my daughter’s frequent refrain was “make a better choice” instead of “don’t do
this” or “don’t touch that.” And when they continued anyway, she told them “as
a consequence” they had time out.
A better choice. And
consequences. The choices we make—whether consciously or unconsciously—affect us
in ways we cannot imagine. Not doing something is a choice. Little, everyday
decisions accumulate and have consequences. When my husband changed jobs or was
transferred, things happened fast. He went to work in the new town, leaving me behind
to put a house of for sale. Putting off painting the front hall, repairing that
screen door from the dog’s claws, and other household chores caught up. Should
have made a better choice.
At the end of February,
we had all the documents needed for taxes. Past history told me “corrected”
documents could come in March. So I kept putting off gathering all the info to
take to our tax person. Did I consciously make a decision not to work on taxes?
Nope. I was preoccupied with my newest WIP. Writing about space adventures was much
more interesting than gathering medical expenses or figuring out business miles.
Avoidance was a choice. And the consequences were that last week I scrambled to
get ready for Friday’s appointment.
Procrastination is
my middle name. Granted, I work better under deadlines. It’s amazing how much I
can get done when I have to. Not so amazing is that I could have done things
ahead of time—like the taxes. Procrastination is a choice. Choices have
consequences.
As I write this
post, a line from a Robert Frost poem kept swirling around in my head. This
ending from “The Road Not Taken” is perfect choice on which to end this post.
“Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I—
I took the one less traveled
by,
And that has made all the
difference.”
Diane
Burton writes romantic adventure . . . stories that take place on Earth and
beyond. She blogs here on the 8th and 30th of each month and on Mondays on her
own site: http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/
