little things add up

the little things add up

it is amazing how the little things add up
all sorts of diminutive tasks gather together
until it seems so overwelming that it is just easier to walk away
accept that I will do things at a later time
this later time never comes

that is why it is important to chip away at things
piece by piece
not everything all at once
but approach things one task at a time

had the trueing stand out the other day
this had me thinking about how i had wanted to mount my stand on a slab of butcher block cutting board
had been wanting to do this for some time
just had not made it happen

the other night at Home Depot I grabbed some esscentials
then I grabbed some non-esscentials
non-esscentials that were essential to this trueing stand project
simple and short
a wooden kitchen cutting board and two bolts of the right length and the right width
then a few washers and some nuts to finish the job

this task was well over due
especially with its simplicity
being it a simple task I invited my younger son Grant to assist me in the basement on a project
there were tools that needed to be rounded up
drills and drill bits
we traveled around in dark corners of the basement into all sorts of tool boxes
spooking dady long legs and crickets as we poked about
grant was helpful with his handy battery free hand crank LED flashlight
we were working like a team

a quick template of the spacing
then some explaination of the drill and its dangers
the dangers of the drill and power tools in general
and then the solid rule that he is not to touch the power tools
grant immediately walked forward and picked up the drill
not to use it... he wanted to remove the battery... still dangerous
then there was the demand that during this stage of the process grant must remain seated on the couch
his assitance had been valuable thus far
his contribution at this point was behaving
which was vital to the completion of the task

things went short and sweet and fit tightly into place

in no time at all I had not only scratched a dated and faded item off my mental things to do list
but I had also improved my mechanic's work space
as well as having a good time hanging with my younger son Grant

there was talk about motorcyles as he tried on my old motorcycle helmet
questions about when I worked at a bike shop
talks about bicycles and bicycle races
all sorts of random stuff
crazy the depth of a three year old's mind
then the pride after the job well done
both in him and in me
we built something together
we worked as a team
we each felt the pride of building something

this project went much better than when I asked Dean to help me hang shelves
shelves that were hung in the basement
which are not quite square

I then pulled out the glue gun and tagged the lense cap leash to the lense cap
another two second task that had to be done but had been avoided
another two second task that would make my life better
another two second task scratched off that mental things to do list

productivity builds to productivity
I am chipping away at things slowly

I need to get proactive and get productive on some things
I should have stayed productive in the basement
instead I started blogging

starting getting ready for cyclocross
so many people will be a month into their season
I am slower, I am heavier than last year at this time... people will be faster and more intense this year
time to get humbled
time to fight getting lapped