it is what it is

I seem to say this a lot, of late. What do I mean by that? I generally seem to respond that way when people want to rehash a situation that is long past and has no hope of changing. Why dwell on things that have no hope for change? I’m happy to address a project or situation that some action on my part, or others, might bring about a different more satisfactory outcome, but if not, why waste the time?

Black Paintings # 10
24"X36" heavyweight watercolor paper

 I am a problem solver by nature, I want to “fix things”. I generally find a great deal of satisfaction in figuring out what’s wrong and take steps to make it better. Particularly if I work it out, or get the necessary info to determine what needs to be done and can save myself money by doing it myself.  I seem to have pretty good instincts regarding what the problem might be, maybe being a single Mom and often having to resolve things myself has contributed to that. When I couldn’t fix it myself and had to call in a pro, I would hang around and watch what the solution was, and often served as the tool hander overerer. This gave me the opportunity to not only observe the fixing, but have a communication with the fixit person as to what had caused the failure. Presumably on the premise that the right info would furnish me with the necessary steps needed to avoid a repeat performance of same or similar failures.

When I was young and lived on the farm, my uncle Hank was very patient with his “city girl” niece and let me hang around him in the tool shed whenever he fixed or developed equipment needed on the farm.  When my Aunt Nada wanted me to churn the fresh cow’s milk into butter and I complained about the length of time it took to churn it with a hand crank, he figured out a way to attach it to a motor to speed up the job. My aunt didn’t approve of that, mainly because her real purpose for assigning me that task was not just to have fresh churned butter, but also to get me out from underfoot in the house. Or down from my bedroom where I liked to while away the hours with my nose in a book. I loved to read and got an award in 3rd grade for reading aloud. Also, comprehension has always been a facility I’ve happily embraced my entire life.