I know quite a few people who sometimes suddenly decide to do something completely different.

One friend gave up his construction job, which he had been doing for some 20-plus years, to start laying tile. He's always been good with his hands, laying rock, tile and sidewalks in his spare time. But to give up his career to just start a business all of a sudden-like seems so impulsive on one hand and very attractive on the other. Who hasn't gotten up one morning and thought, "I don't want to do this today."

However, I've always went ahead and done my work, irregardless of what it was. But this friend apparently just got up and said, "That's it." I've always been a little jealous of those people, in a way. There's the perception of freedom there, although those folks are just as much a victim of their choices as the rest of us are. If one is willing to deal with the consequences, making changes can add excitement. However, it also adds instability and stress.

I've not checked in with him lately, but I hope he's doing well. However, I'll bet he finds out that his new job isn't any better than his old one. After all, I've always heard it said that the boss who will work you the hardest for the least money is the one you see in the mirror every morning. He who owns his own business owns his own problems.

However, without risk there is seldom a reward. Those who take risks, opening businesses, making investments and trying new things, are usually the ones who have spectacular successes—or incredible failures.

The rest of us usually just plod along at a more steady rate, our graphs don't have a lot of big up or down swings in them for the most part. Well, at least as long as none of the variables outside our control change our lives for us.

I have another friend who worked for a number of years in an industry and recently found himself unemployed and near retirement age.

Another friend in the construction field is moving to another state, leaving his home behind, to start over in his mid-50s. These sound like story lines from the Great Depression, not this year.

I suppose the less one has to lose, the less he or she minds losing it. Before I had a family or a home of my own, picking up and making a drastic change didn't seem like as big a deal. But when the choices affect a number of people, the best option is usually to stay put and try to keep things moving steadily, even if slowly, upward.

Stability is important in the lives of children, or for the entire family, for that matter. I've found that kids thrive under the auspices of routines, commonly known as chores. However, the main limiting factor in making those effective seems to be the administration and oversight of the parents. To that regard, I may have been a little more lax than I should have. Anyone who sees inconsistency in leadership will hold out for a period of time to wait for the wind to blow in another direction rather than do an unseemly task.

But I'll be quiet before I get myself into trouble here. I seem to do that quite a bit, without even realizing it. I've found that those who do anything will likely eventually make others mad. However, the ones who do nothing are the ones I get upset about.

There are circumstances where folks just can't seem to get it together. For instance, I have friends who are interested in getting their lives in order but not interested in investing the time that it takes to do it. So instead they complain about how things are. I better stop now, since I have a motto about that very thing, "I harp not on others problems, since I have an adequate number of my own about which others might complain."

Lately, the problems seem fairly small and the hope still holds sway. I haven't talked about my project in Piney Creek lately, mainly because I've been too busy talking about something else. With everything done except for a little bit of tile in the master bathroom and a bit of work elsewhere, I'm quite sure that the entire job will be finished in the very near future. In looking over my ever-shrinking list, I see a few things that will take quite a bit of time, but most are simple and quick fixes. The truth be told, a job like this is never really 'finished.'

I could work forever on any given house, upgrading one thing or the other until it was 'perfect' to my way of looking at it. But, as I've learned over time, that's not what the next owner will see or want. I recently paid a man to paint inside an entire house, only to have the next homeowners tell me that they had to paint before moving in. That's why I never get too worked up about painting. Even if it's all white, someone won't like it.

I've left one job, putting down hard tile in the bathroom, until last. When I eat a meal, I usually leave one of my favorite things until last. However, when I do a job, I seem to leave the part I dread most until the last thing. Tile is something that I've done before but never really enjoyed.

It's hard work and the tiles are difficult to cut. Besides that, the work is made more difficult inasmuch as one has to stay on his knees for several hours to get it done. That's never been pleasant for me, either. But I'm still going to try to do it this week, whether I want to or not. I usually hire someone to help, which then forces me to work hard as well to get my money's worth. However, I seldom get my money's worth out of me without pushing hard. I've not talked about the work I'm doing there for a few weeks, a fact that's probably welcome to a number of my loyal readers. Most seem committed to plowing through this written ground every week, whether it's hard and dry, soft and perfectly moist or a wet, muddy mess. Those are the people who make it worthwhile. I spoke to a lady a couple weeks ago who told me she reads the column and enjoys it every week.

Even I have a hard time enjoying it every week. Still yet, it is for those who give at least 15 minutes of their life to read this musing (or weekly rambling) that I continue to write. Entertainment? If you can find it here, you're sure welcome to it.
 

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