THE WAY I SEE IT ...

PUBLISHER’S LETTER

Robin Rogers, Ed.D.

I’m an overthinker. Last week, I had to pick a new sink and faucet for my kitchen. It was hell. I debated the pros and cons of at least 30 sinks and even more faucets as I walked up and down the same aisles for hours—yes, hours. The sporadic decision-making of my youth has been trampled by the conservative middle-aged mind of today. Years ago, I could make a snap decision (right or wrong) and act like I was right no matter what. Now, I hem and haw over which bananas to put in my buggy. Are they too green? Too ripe? How close are they to being banana bread? Are they organic or Dole? “Decision paralysis” can really fluster me, especially if the stakes are higher than shopping for produce.

Recently, I co-hosted a wedding shower. I was in charge of tablecloths, place settings, and silverware. I worried and worried for weeks about the colors of the linens, whether the flatware should be silver or gold, and how the napkins should be folded. (It sounds absurd to me as I type the words.) If you are a Pinterest person, you may be familiar with the rabbit hole I fell into after searching “wedding shower” on Pinterest. There are games, menus, invitations, centerpieces, party favors, themes, dress codes . . . it goes on and on. This is like fuel on my decision-paralysis flame. It doesn’t help that I am a procrastinator. If I make a decision, then I can’t take it back, so I wait until the very last minute to pull the trigger.

My mom, who was also helping with the shower, kept asking me, “What can I do? Do you need any help?” But instead of letting her help, I stayed on that hamster wheel in my head. If I just put it off a little while longer, the answer would come.

So, three days before the shower, I pull into Dot’s Rentals and pray that they have what I need to rent for the party. It wasn’t like we were having a party for 500, so I felt like surely they would be able to accommodate my last-minute needs, boy, could they ever! The choices Dot has in her wedding area are enormous. Now, you may be thinking, “Why didn’t she just get some white tablecloths, some hard plasticware, and call it a day?” If you saw all of the wonderful options that Dot’s has, you would understand. Plus, the bride is just one of the most special people I have ever known, so I wanted perfection. The woman helping me choose my items that day probably went home to her spouse and laughed about how ridiculous I was. I took photos of various colored cloths with various silverware options and sent the combinations to my daughters. They gave their opinions, and then I changed my mind. Finally, I just told the lady to pick what she liked—for my dear friend that she doesn’t even know.