I’m one of those people who gets an idea to try a thing and thinks ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’, but I want to try the thing, so don't worry about the potential disaster.
Many (many) moons ago, I left college to be a nanny in England. The earth didn’t leave orbit, nor did I become homeless, forced to wander the moors calling for Heathcliff. (Actually, that sounds kind of fun, doesn’t it?) But nor did I marry Prince Andrew – he never returned my calls. Uh … thank goodness.
I left college for the second time (see a pattern here?) and relocated to Baltimore with my then-boyfriend. We lived in a slightly scary neighbourhood (police helicopters were forever shining their searchlights in our backyard), but I survived, have a few exciting stories to tell, and am still married (37 years) to that boyfriend.
Since then, I've had many ideas, some successful (writing a book can’t be that hard - ha!), others not so much. But I’m always willing and/or eager to try.
A few years ago, we built our dream retirement home. Well, ‘we’ didn’t do any of the actual building. The construction crew did all the work. DH and I merely supervised and made decisions. (Though there were times I’d have preferred to pound nails than decide where to put the freaking electrical outlets … grrrr.) But we left a few things unfinished because I had the idea that we’d work on those things ourselves. Save a few pennies in labour costs and try something new. It would be fun!
To clarify, there are a few things I have no desire to try, and they involve heights. Step onto a 60th-floor balcony? I’d rather not, thanks. Bungee jump? No, thank you! Skydive? Are you insane?!? Shingle a roof? Hm …
One of the undone projects was building a garden shed. You’re probably aware that a shed is useless without a roof.
And so up the ladder I went.
That’s me without my face blacked out. With me are my daughter-in-love and my long-suffering DH who goes along with most of my great ideas. Son1 took the photo.
As I ascended the ladder, I thought, ‘what’s the worst that could happen’. Death was a possibility. The shed is only one story tall, but I don’t think that matters if one lands on one’s head. A broken bone would be more likely, or a big, BIG bruise.
No one was injured in the creation of this shed, apart from skinned knuckles. I perfected my hammering skills, and we get to brag about building a darned nice shed. And we have a few stories to tell.
I’d never built a sundeck before either, so we did that next.
And since we were successful with the garden shed and sundeck, we next tackled the hen house.
What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever tried? Are you a fellow ‘what’s the worst that could happen’ thinker?
Luanna Stewart has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. She spends her days writing many flavours of romance. When not torturing her characters, she’s in her kitchen baking something delicious. She lives in Nova Scotia with her patient husband and three hens.
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