I've been thinking through numerous posts on singleness for a long while now. I don't recall ever putting them into writing, so here is a fun beginning to what could be a long list of posts. You see as life has progressed recently, there have been many lessons that I've been learning that come from learning how to do things that have typically been "male" tasks in my world. Now when there isn't a male around for the little things, and sometimes the big things, you learn. And sometimes those lessons come through humiliation. Other times, it's a hilarious learning curve.
The main lessons from the past week:
1. Don't be ashamed to ask for help.
Last fall when I moved into a house, I quickly realized I needed an edger. Something about clean lines and coming from a family that spends most Saturday's doing yard work... So going into Sears and buying an edger was a solid win for me last September. Granted, I did have to talk to the salesperson then walk a few aisles away and get some advice from my Dad before purchasing, but hey, I bought an edger!
So this past week, I was edging with vigor and the line finished and flew out. That meant, I had to replace the line in order to edge. Some people are thinking, is she seriously not sure how to do that? Others are thinking, what is the "line" she is talking about?
On Friday, I put my edger in my trunk and walked that baby straight into Sears and asked for help. The people all around, almost all of them being males, look at you like you're that little girl who is incompetent. It's in that moment where you stand your ground and you look that Sears man in the eye, and say, "I need you to teach me how to replace the line in my edger." So Sears man went to grab more and I trot behind him asking a thousand questions about all these random numbers they put on those packages. Learning the whole time, so that next time I'm able to just walk into Sears and get more line and change it out all by myself. Look Ma! I can change the line in my edger! Wahoo.
2. When you feel like an idiot, embrace it. You're learning.
Did you know I worked at Home Depot? Yeah, well it didn't help too much. You see, I've been the girl who since sophomore year of college has had her own power drill. Pretty hard core, huh? Well, it's because I like to decorate and everyone knows you need a drill to hang curtain rods! Now before you go thinking that I know what I'm doing, let me share a moment of solid ignorance on my part. Senior year of college I couldn't seem to get a curtain rod hung at my house. I called my Dad to ask him why. He asked me what drill bit I was using to make the starter hole, and I seriously had no idea what he was talking about. Turns out for a year I was just straight up drilling all screws into the wall with no starter holes, no drill bits, nada... just brute strength. That's right, hard core.
This past week I was trying to hang some bike racks in our garage and could not seem to get the right combo of drill bit and screw (something I still wish I had a better handle on). So I embraced ignorance again and walked straight into Home Depot's tools section and explained the situation.
When in Home Depot talking about tools and stuff I feel like a 3rd grader asking a calculus teacher, so wait, "3x3= 9 or 6?" When I leave with the answer to my question, I'm typically relieved but more than that, I'm just glad to be out of there. Learning to keep moving through feeling like an idiot in the "Male World" is more frequent than I'd have ever guessed, but I'm learning, slowly but surely.
3. Get awesome roommates who are fit.
Living with 3 other women is hilarious and crazy. Figuring out how to make a path in our backyard, like this one I made this week, is a total landscaping win. Now it's been a long process landscaping, but I try to remember that it takes everyone a long time. And some people never even try, so I'm gonna be excited about even trying.
Another thing is that if you've ever lived with me, or just been in my house, you know it doesn't take much for me to completely rearrange rooms. A few weeks ago, my roommate and I decided (well I decided and then recruited her) to move a couch from the upstairs to downstairs. And you know what, we did it! Again, hard core!
Being single and living with single women, it helps if you work out, not just for your health but more importantly for redecorating! You just never know when you're going to need to move couches up and down the stairs in your house. So keep those arms strong for your next project.
4. More than anything, embrace where you're at.
I think in the midst of all these "Male World" lessons, I'm learning how grateful I am to learn how to do these things. Fixing toilets, hanging blinds, landscaping, gaining a tool collection, etc. Growing and learning is never easy, why would it be? There are hard moments where you just want to throw in the towel and wish a guy would walk up in Home Depot and say, "I'd love to come to your house and fix everything and make it all perfect for you," but then I'd have to respond with, "I'm sorry creepy man, but I refuse to tell you where I live." So here is to learning to thrive in the circumstances you're in!
