For those of us who are spinning too many plates or burning too many candles at all ends or giving up altogether and devoting their lives to working Sudoku puzzles…and the hell with it…
Delegate!
It takes a village. Why not call on people for help, especially when it’s a win-win for everyone. Why didn’t I learn this lesson in kindergarten?
So one baby step at a time I am stepping into the world of mutual blessing. Starting with my website. Yes I do it myself and of course enjoy the process, spending hours tweaking the snappy text, piling in pictures and links (that actually link), airbrushing the whole thing in hot pink and green.
But the truth is I don’t know squat about web design, actually any design. And I know even less “computer language.” Years ago I got lucky and began this website detour in my life using a freebie program called Netscape with it’s basic instructions that are written for first graders. Then one day, in the recent past, Netscape disappeared and took my website with it. Well not quite. My humble billboard in the sky became frozen in space. I couldn’t make any changes to it, and as we know, life is all about change. Whether we like it or not.
I remember that “frozen website day.” While I was hiding in the bedroom, curled up in the fetal position, seeing my life pass before me, my husband found a Netscape chat room online and described the situation, including my current mental condition, to the international community. Not long after, a nice man in Germany emailed back suggesting we download some program call KompoZer. It’s free, compatible with Netscape and best of all, works! My husband restores my website. And my life.
But once I can feel my toes again, I realize the time has come for some serious “letting go.” Enter Miss Amy Pace, an uproariously talented designer who created my husband’s very cool website and the artwork for his latest CD. Plus, she’s a computer genius. So many gifts wrapped up into one lovely woman.
She is making “delegating” easy. And a pleasure. So, let the artist “art” and let the ukulele player “uke.”
Right now Amy and I are in constant email communication (she lives in Wisconsin) as she builds a new website for me. There will be videos (finally, because I never learned how to do that myself) and a new home for my blog where you can post your responses and we can share the tears and cheers together. I’ll have a new page for The CC Strummers, my ukulele group, and all things ukulele. Amy and I have a long ways to go, so for now my home-sewn website is alive and well and a click away. I’ll keep you updated about the “birthing process.” Oh by the way, the new website will be all hot pink and green. Just because…
Delegating #2
Speaking of The CC Strummers…
Our little group is growing like beautiful bougainvillea in the California sun and is blossoming into an ohana, a family. I am ready to add one more task to my “to do” list by creating a contact list so our ukulele family members can email or phone each other directly. Then I suddenly remember my new mantra: Delegate.
Enter Ray, a loveable bear of man, generous and one fabulous musician too. Ray used to work for the government. Our government. In aerospace. You know, rockets, satellites and all that stuff. During those space-race days, he was granted the highest security clearance because apparently Ray is a man who can keep a secret. So The CC Strummers can trust him with our email addresses, by golly. He now appears in class with color-coded forms for us to fill out. This job is in very good hands indeed.
Delegating #3
Then there is my mother, who is descending deeper and deeper into her own world of dementia with its wild array of prickly behaviors. Day by day, she is losing “her story.” Our story. Thankfully, her care is being delegated. But…
Today I drop by her home with my banjo ukulele and together we sing songs from the good old days. Everything, even this, goes down a little easier with music.
I’ve heard it said that we pay attention to what we value and we value what we pay attention to. It’s an interesting exercise to really look at that, unflinchingly. So I’m looking and listening and making every effort to embrace each moment as it comes. And delegate.
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