Q is for Quick @ Life is Good

During this week of writer's block, I'm relying on my YellowBoy to provide prompts. He helped me with my last two post subjects, and as I sat here pondering Q, I asked him again. “Q is for Quick! You're quick at everything. You're quick at learning. Well...except for video games.” Out of the mouths of babes...

Quick! Get it done now! I'm not a patient person. At all. I've spent my life tripping and falling because in my mind I'm already at my destination. Or at least that's how my mom describes it. I appreciate the excuse, but the truth is not only am I impatient, I'm also a complete klutz. (I think my four broken bones and fourteen (not kidding!) surgeries will prove that.) Sometimes quick can be good, but of course there's always the other side. Sometimes quick can land you in a heap of trouble. Let's explore, shall we?

Quick is good when you're trying to be efficient. I can get in and out of a grocery store in thirty minutes. I remember one time a few years ago when my mother and I ended up at the same store, simultaneously. It was nice to connect, but MAN, she's a slow grocery shopper. I have a list and attack. She might have a list, but meanders slowly, up and down each aisle, engrossed in our conversation. Which meant we back-tracked. A lot. (Hi Mom, you know I love you!)

Quick can be good in an emergency. Like the time I almost sliced Mary's finger off in the tomato slicer. I was training her at Wendy's, and was showing her the tomato slicer. When I horked down on it, there was her finger, in the way, and now almost in half. I quickly grabbed a towel, applied compression, and drove her to the hospital. ( And then I had to work her whole shift for her...after my already over-time shift. But I digress.) (I probably need to do a whole Wendy's post...fast food work is horrid, but it does give you good stories.)

Quick can also be good when you're trying to make dinner. My new favorite cookbook is called 96 Thirty Minute Suppers. It's from America's Test Kitchen, one of my favorite shows. The book has each recipe on a card, and perforated. I've tried six of these now, and not only are they delicious, but they go together really quickly. I love cooking, but most of the time my schedule doesn't allow me the leisure of an hour or more to prepare.

But as I mentioned already, quick can have it's bad side, too. For example, quick is bad when you speak before you think. I've showed my Dansko so far into my mouth on so many occasions, it's hard to pick one to share. Off the cuff responses to other people's tragedies. Blurted out opinions in staff meetings. Sharing my feelings with the wrong person at the wrong time. I'm shuddering at my blunders as I write this.

Quick is also bad when you miss something. Trying to put the kids to bed quickly, and missing that opportunity when they had something to say. Rushing out the door without the list, or the mail to be posted, or those books that are already over-due. Makes for a lot of u-turns at the end of our street. Hurry now, regret later.

One of the worst case of quick's consequences, however, is when I hurry through something instead of doing it thoroughly the first time. Breezing my way through a test, making stupid adding mistakes when the topic was integration. Or not reading ALL the fine print and realizing I'd gotten myself into a contract that would cost more than it was worth. (Though I still maintain that < insert un-named banking institution here> changed the interest rate afterwards.)

And lately I've realized that I've tried to hurry through my kids growing up. “When they are (insert age) then we can_______” has come from my lips on numerous occasions. So here I sit, sometimes just soaking in the sight of my 13 year-old miracle, and wondering, “How did he grow up so fast? Wasn't it just yesterday that he wouldn't take off that spiderman costume to go to school? When did he turn into this amazing teenager who plays guitar? And when did that screaming baby who never slept become this sensitive, intuitive ten year-old?

Life moves pretty fast. Don't miss it hurrying quickly to your next destination.

I'm participating in the fab Ms. Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday.  Check out the other great posts on the letter Q.