Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Change Is Easy, Decisions Are Hard

The problem with change is actually making the decision. A long time ago, I read the book If Life Is A Game, These Are The Rules. In that book it says when you make a decision on your "life path", you should only answer "yes" or "no". God, I wish I had learned that lesson a lot earlier in my life. It sure makes it easier to make big decisions. Several people I know right now are trying to make lifepath decisions. I wish they could see how easy those decisions actually are. Don't Pro and Con it, just ask yourself "Do I want to do ___?Yes or No?"

So what's my problem? I don't have big lifepath decisions any more, just the little stuff. Like our front yard. When we bought our house last year, the one thing we knew for sure was that this walkway would have to go!

It's ugly, straight, ugly, hard to walk on -- in fact, downright dangerous -- and, did I mention ugly? Here's a shot of my father-in-law trying to walk down it.

The decision on what to do to replace it has us stumped. We know it will be a curvy pathway, but brick or flagstone? Or tumbled pavers? Remove most of the grass and put in a U-drive in front? We like to do things with a plan and we've been trying to come up with one.

We already removed the planting area to the right of the entry and put a flagstone patio under the window. That quick decision had to be made to get rid of a problem we had with too much water standing in that area and causing the plants to die. The yard in front is not that big, but it is way bigger than we wanted to mow and water once the Texas heat hits in July and August.


The plan we're working on now includes putting a single car garage attached to this side of the house. The garage and driveway would do away with a lot of grass in this area. The garage would come out as far as the garage on the other side of the house, creating a shaded patio area where you see the plants below the window in the left side of this picture. No more mowing or watering this area makes the extra garage a top choice for me!


The block walkway would be removed and a curvy walkway will lead down to the street, as well as go around both sides of the house to the garages, taking out as much grass as possible. Our last house was on an acre of land, which is where we learned the less to mow and water, the better life can be!


What decisions are you trying to make? If they have to do with your lifepath, try just answering yes or no. If they have to do with the little mundane things of life, I hope your decisions come easier than ours!

7 comments:

  1. I agree with you about yes/no. It's what I think of as the "bottom line" conversation with yourself. Even the huge stuff in life ultimately gets reduced to a yes or no. I remember the moment I decided to get divorced. It was because I finally asked myself -- bottom line -- "Do I want to be married to this person anymore? Yes or no?"

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  2. Hi my friend! To be honest here I disagree with the yes or no. Major decisions if married cannot be just yourself but your partner's life is affected also. If your partner disagrees and gives facts to back up why it would not be beneficial to their relationship as it will spill over to the partner your yes or no leaves no compromise. I hope I explained that enough. Nothing worse than your partner blaming you for a major decision the partner is miserable with.
    Any life path decision has to take in the pro's and con's before a yes/no decision can be made. Whatever decision you make will it result in what I want?

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  3. As a decorator, I make quick decisions with no difficulty. In my own home, I rethink everything so often that I'm often frozen in indecision. I'll try your yes or no and see if something actually gets done! ~ Maureen

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  4. Nancy (#2 above), I think if married, both spouses must chose yes or no. If it's both yes, then go forward. If it's both no, then don't do it. If it's a yes and a no, then that's when further work needs to be done. Pros and cons often circumvent a good decision.

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  5. So glad I found your blog through the blog hop. I'm now following you through GFC. I would love if you stopped by and followed back, so we can stay connected. Lori

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  6. My last house also had too much yard--lesson learned! A circular driveway sounds awesome. I hope you can fit that in the plans.

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  7. Thank you so much for linking up to the blog hop! Wishing you all the best in your bloggy endeavors. Cheers!

    Kelly
    www.livelaughrowe.com

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