It’s early Saturday morning, the start of a three day weekend. I should be nestled under the covers, snoozing away, but instead I’m here, checking on the service hours of my auto shop. I should have done that ahead of time. They opened an hour ago. I should have been there at that time. I was asleep.
You see I’ve been driving with a “check engine” light on for the past week or more and I need to take the car in. I know it’s just for an overdue oil change, but those oil changes are important. I understand that, and yet I keep driving that poor car and telling myself that it’s just a few more miles, and I’ll get the oil changed soon. Wrong approach. I know this. Now I’m up earlier than I would like and I’m about to head out on this chilly morning to finally take care of business. Still, I’m procrastinating, telling you all about this exciting event rather than just doing it. Why do I do this?
It’s not just the poor car, either. Right next to me on the desk are two cards that I received in the mail. The first is from the dentist’s office. They miss me. The second is from the vet. They miss my dog. Again, just routine stuff, a cleaning, some vaccinations, basic maintenance issues. I must make those appointments.
I wonder why I do this. I would never deliberately damage my car, harm my dog, or wreck my teeth, but by not maintaining them properly that’s what I’m doing. I do it with my health too. I’m overdue for a lab appointment, and I’m dreading going in.
I think I know what’s going on here. I blame it on being busy, and honestly I AM busy, but that’s not the whole story. I think I’m afraid of bad news. I don’t want to know that there’s a huge repair that needs to be made to the car, or that my cholesterol level has gone back up, or that I have a new cavity. I’m like the ostrich with its head in the sand. What I don’t know won’t hurt me. However, as we all know, that’s a lie.
It’s time to get going and face the music. Or the Muzak as the case may be. I think that’s what they play in the waiting room of the auto service center.
BulgingButtons 
January 18, 2014 at 8:44 am
Sadly the “wake me up when it’s all over” doesn’t work :o) But sometimes I wish it would :o)
January 19, 2014 at 9:04 am
That would be nice!
January 18, 2014 at 8:53 am
We are definitely experiencing some synchronicity here, including this: I blogged about my Check Engine Light recently, too. I appreciated this post — thank you!
January 19, 2014 at 9:12 am
Thanks for your kind words and the chance to discover your blog. In fact I believe I am your 1000th follower. 🙂
January 19, 2014 at 12:09 pm
Wow! That is so cool. Thanks for letting me know, and I look forward to more synchronicity and future encounters.
January 18, 2014 at 9:07 am
Many of us do this I think. It may be because all these tasks are not exactly pleasant and we would rather be doing something else with our time.
January 19, 2014 at 9:13 am
Yes, it’s much more fun to blog or read or even watch tv than to take care of all those chores. It nice to know that I’m not alone.
January 18, 2014 at 9:08 am
Sometimes I put off filling in forms that only take a minute. Why do we do this?
January 19, 2014 at 9:14 am
Crazy, right? Or rinsing a dish and putting it in the dishwasher? Less than a minute but sometimes I don’t. Why, indeed.
January 18, 2014 at 9:26 am
Oh, gee whiz, BB. You procrastinated on like, three things. You should be canonized a saint for only neglecting that little.
A few months ago, I wrote about all of these really pressing things I was putting off taking care of.
I’m pretty sure I still haven’t done any of them.
You’re alright, lady. 😉
January 19, 2014 at 9:15 am
Aw shucks, Matt, thanks. But those were only the three that I wrote about… there are dozens more!!! 🙂
January 18, 2014 at 1:31 pm
Sign me Your Fellow Ostrich in The Garden State 🙂
January 19, 2014 at 9:15 am
What a club we could have!