The Heat Is On

This has been the hottest summer I can ever remember. Problem is, my wife and I are both super busy and we can’t really avoid the heat. I have a parking lot light pole inspection business which includes pushing a heavy tool cart 10,000 steps a day on hot asphalt. And my wife has a charity which involves filling at least 100 suitcases each month with clothing and essentials for foster children, which she does in our hot garage.

Okay, I’m basically a guy’s guy, so I’m not about to complain about a little bit of heat. Although the other day it was 110 degrees at Westlake Village Plaza and the sole on my right shoe basically melted and separated, which then made flapping noises as I walked. I looked and sounded stupid for quite a while but then hey… there’s nothing a little duct tape can’t fix!

Anyway, that’s not the problem. The problem is that I worry about my wife overheating while lifting heavy suitcases in our garage. So I decided that I would write her a love poem on my way home and my plan was to get her an ice-cold glass of tea and then recite the poem to her as soon as she came in from the garage to cheer her up. I must say the idea had merit, but unfortunately the execution was lacking … mainly because the poem sucked! But you know what… the heat was on then, and the heat is on now!

 

When we first met it’s like you were the universe
and I was merely some dust

who got to experience your beauty,
once I shook off the rust.

 

So I extended my hand to this angel from heaven

and was very surprised to find,

that it was instantly met by another 

so soft, warm, and kind.

Make Your Bed

I love my wife because she’s beautiful inside and out and makes me happy in so many ways. But one thing I’ve noticed over the years is that although we are alike in some ways, we are very different in others.

For example, she likes to do laundry every single day. If it were up to me it would probably be once a month. Sometimes I can’t even get both legs out of my pants before she is trying to throw them in the washing machine. And when it comes to the sheets on our bed, she washes them at least every other day, which seems to me like a lot of work…but I don’t argue I just follow directions. Besides, it makes her happy and that’s a big part of my job as her husband!

So she washes the sheets, and I help her by making the bed. And when I do I make it right and pull it tight. I’m guess I’m kind of a perfectionist that way. But it’s also because my Dad was a Captain in the Marine Corps and that’s the way he taught me to do it. But then last week, I read something written by a Navy Seal and it finally explains why making your bed is so important. Who knew?

“Every morning in basic SEAL training, my instructors, who at the time were all Viet Nam veterans, would show up in my barracks room and the first thing they would do was inspect our beds. If you did it right, the corners would be square, the covers pulled tight, the pillow centered just under the headboard and the extra blanket folded neatly at the foot of the rack—rack—that’s Navy talk for bed.

It was a simple task - mundane at best. But every morning we were required to make our bed to perfection. It seemed a little ridiculous at the time, particularly in light of the fact that were aspiring to be real warriors, tough battle-hardened SEALs - but the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over.

If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another.

By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. Let’s face it - If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.

And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made—that you made—and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed!”

So this morning I made the bed, and my wife did the laundry, and I thought…If you truly find the right person to share your life and labor with… you’ve got a much better chance of changing the world!

Without labor, nothing prospers. 

~ Sophocles