JUDGMENT DAZE

There’s a cartoon in the newspaper called, “Baby Blues.” Mom is supervising her little boy’s homework and he says, “Once Brad dared me to eat a worm, but I only licked it, and then stuck it up my nose.” Mom says, “Can you think of a different example of good judgment?” And the child says, “Why do they make these essays so hard?”

I told my friend, Debra that story, and she said, “I can top that! My seven-year-old granddaughter is an animal lover. She and her little brother had a pet fish, and unfortunately, one morning, they discovered that the fish had died. My granddaughter was inconsolable and cried and cried. Her father comforted her until the tears stopped. At that, her little brother said, “Dad, can we eat him now?”

Debra’s grandson got the facts and made a decision. I guess he never heard the saying, “Be silent. Be safe!” Sometimes decisions to talk or act are like that.

I am a decisive person. I try to get all the facts first and then make my decision. Most of the time, it works out okay, but sometimes I am wrong. If that happens my mantra is: “Hang on to the good memories. Have no regrets. Proceed! Teddy Roosevelt said, “If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your troubles, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”

Recently, I decided not to attend a community association meeting that I suspected would be acrimonious, because people were being asked to fork out more money, so bills could be paid. I had already decided to vote, “Yes,” on the issue and decided not to submit myself to unnecessary aggravation.

Usually, when I make a decision I stick to it. However, I have a friend who is extremely indecisive. I have learned never to go clothes shopping with her. She will find an outfit she likes, try it on, like it even more, because she looks good in it, and then won’t purchase it because she “might find something better.” Then she will go from store, to store, to store---usually ending up with no purchase made.

My husband only went clothes shopping with me once. I held up two dresses and said, “Which dress should I buy?” His reaction was, “Buy both of them. Can we go home now?”  That showed extremely good judgment!

As I get older, I find myself faced with more and more difficult decisions, but it helps me to remember that I am completely unique---just like everyone else.

I like what Ron White said about making decisions. He said, “If life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade---and then, try to find someone whose life has given him vodka---and then have a party!”

Try to be careful with your decisions, because it’s well to remember that, “If at first you don’t succeed, so much for sky diving.” (Henny Youngman)

Esther Blumenfeld