The adage featured for today’s FANDANGO’S FEBRUARY EXPRESSIONS is:
A stitch in time saves nine
Any adage about how to make the best use of the time makes me think of a famous saying attributed to Benjamin Franklin. TIME – the stuff life is made of!!!
SInce I was sixteen, I have learnt that one of the most precious resources I had was TIME. We all have twenty-four hours in a day, but how we use those hours is revealing. Some people pack an incredible amount in. Some waste time, or lose time because they did not foresee how A STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE.
I rarely use this expression verbally. But I think it is an adage that I live by. Consider my shower for example. Here in London we have “hard water”. Limescale! It causes a lot of damage.
When I first moved to London, I received training from my housekeeper in how to look after the accommodation I was given and how to make her life easier. Every time we showered, we would spray a very mild sanitiser, squeegee the glass and tiles and then wipe down the smears with a cloth. I have lived in London for almost ten years, and everytime I have a shower I do the same thing. That means that when I come to clean my shower thoroughly once a week, there is no need for scrubbing or strong chemical cleaners, it is very easy to clean and make the whole shower cubicle look sparkly.
Sometimes when I visit the homes of friends and colleagues in London, I notice their shower is caked with white chalky limescale. I am so tempted to recommend to them that they wipe down their shower after each use. Those I have mentioned it seem to think it would take too much time. But it takes two minutes, if that. How long would it take to scrub the limescale when your clean your bathroom? If you let it build up and up, no matter how much you try to scrub it away, it is a nightmare to get rid of.
I am definitely one of those people who cleans as I go. I don’t let my household chores pile up. I keep on top of things. Neglect can cause big problems later down the line, which often means losing time and money.
Oh and it’s not only cleaning. I cook meals and freeze portions, so that on days I do not have time to cook, there is something waiting for me.
I alphabetize everything not nailed to the floor when I am at work, so it will be easy to find when I am in a hurry. I make sure that everyday I send some sort of message or email to friends or family, rather than procrastinating keeping in touch with my loved ones. Time spent on caring for your loved ones is never ever a waste!
I can think of more and more ways that the value of the adage Fandango has chosen for today has been proven to pay off in my own life. A host of STITCHES IN TIME that paid off later, have allowed me to devote over 20,000 hours to volunteering with charities! I am so glad that my parents trained me to make the most of time!
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This was my response to today’s FANDANGO’S FEBRUARY EXPRESSIONS:
https://fivedotoh.com/2020/02/17/fandangos-february-expressions-17-2/
I realized some years ago that this adage describes my CV/resume. I have worked in so many different fields. I am going to try and give you an idea of all the different work I have been involved in for the past twenty years:
Do I qualify as a JACK OF ALL TRADES??? I would not particularly call myself a master at any of these trades. Within health care and pharmacy I have had to train staff and compile training manuals, patient care records, and write reports on anything my boss asked me to. That is probably the area where I have the most training and qualifications.
I LOVE VARIETY! I love all the different types of work I have been involved in. I love the friends I have made along the way. I have managed to avoid supervisor roles and manager roles for years, because I insisted on only part-time hours. My work for charities has always been more important to me. Paid work was only about earning my bread and butter.
My current job is fine. It is a fifteen minute walk from home. I love my colleagues. At the start of the year they asked if I might be able to help out extra while they recruited someone to replace a colleague that had left. I understood that would be for two or three weeks. So instead of working the 17 hours I am contracted for, for the past six weeks I have worked around 4o hours a week (on top of 20+ unpaid hours of work I do each week). I am tired now!
The thing about applying for jobs is….you have to just keep applying and not get your hopes up. You never know who else might be applying for a job and whether they have more experience than you etc. By applying to all sorts of random job advertisements with the part-time hours I was looking for, I have been able to enjoy a varied and fascinating work life.
Well…I could hardly ignore this adage, could I! If ever there was proof of the miraculous changes that can happen when two people agree to LET BYGONES BE BYGONES, surely Jack and I can supply it aplenty!
When we finally got together, it was apparent that Jack and I both wanted peace. The only way that was possible was us to agree to let go of the past. I think that brought us both relief. It also removed a certain barrier or wall that had gone up between us. When that wall came tumbling down, our remarks towards each other became more and more tender and expressed a fondness.
This has taken on new meaning for me during the past 28 hours or so. Yesterday a friend helped me to publish my first novel on Amazon. Amazon said it would take up to 72 hours for the Kindle and Paperback editions to be available.![We Hide What We Hate About Ourselves: Part Of The "Learners At Love" Series by [Finch, Melody]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51alMSIp96L.jpg)
The problem now is waiting for the slower process of the paperback being published. I already realized the paperback had the wrong manuscript. But I can’t tweak it until it is live. So, instead I loaded a completely new edition with the correct manuscript. It looks so much better. That will be published within 72 hours.
Well, I don’t agree that all women should be consigned to the kitchen and their own role in life should be serving a purely domestic function to care for their family. But, I am kind of chilled on this subject to be honest. I happen to be a woman who loves working at home. I also love working outside of the home. It would make me go loopy to be stuck indoors all the time.
I was born in the eighties. This was a decade famous for shoulder pads, electro-pop and feminism amongst other things.
I like to see men and women of all cultures dignified and respected. I have seen both men and women behave well and display beautiful qualities, I have seen both men and women exhibit the worst of human behavior. I do not feel either men or women can claim a monopoly on treating others appropriately all the time. Individuals should take responsibility for their own attitudes, speech and behaviour.
I grew up thinking that one day I would end up married and my role would involve a lot of housework as well as other work outside the home.. I just thought it would happen almost effortlessly. In my mind, I thought he would be a farmer, and I would be a farmer’s wife. I still don’t get why the world doesn’t work that way anymore.
However, I am in no way against marriage. Quite the opposite. I have no objection to the traditional stereotypes – I have been a housekeeper for many clients, why wouldn’t I do all those tasks for the man I love?
I know there are a lot of men out there who I would run a million miles away from! I would never choose them as my head. But I have no problem with taking on the larger part of domestic tasks if I was married. 
Anyway…to me…work should be satisfying. I enjoy cooking, cleaning and ironing. I really do. Hey, the afternoons I spend cooking and filling up my freezer with meals to eat when I am too busy to cook, I put my favourite music on and have a glass of wine. They are afternoons I look forward to. I enjoy housework much more than being being shouted at by angry patients. But everyone is different. Every couple is different. They can arrange between them who is best suited to looking after domestic tasks and earning money to cover household expenses. At the end of the day, they are a team.
Well, this adage seems very dated, doesn’t it! I am glad I did not grow up in that kind of environment. My parents encouraged us to engage in conversations with other adults and to express ourselves. I remember Dad prompting his customers to ask me questions, I would feel so shy about answering. But it was good for me.
I have never had any of my own children. (I lost my little apricot of course at eleven weeks.) I admire my parents enormously for the way they trained us and the example they set.
Although I have never had children of my own, I have observed children. Some children seem shy and quiet. It can take great effort to encourage them to express themselves. Whereas other children walk around with such swagger, bossing their parents around, even calling their parents stupid.
Although, I have never been a parent, I have observed other parents. Some of whom have frankly terrified me, screaming abusively at their children in public, shaking them, making threats of what they would do once they reached home. I dread to imagine what might go on at home. Really scary stuff.
A year later, I saw that same mother and daughter. The little girl was thrilled to see us. There was a tiny baby boy with them too. The mother told us more this time about the atmosphere at home. Since we last saw them, her husband had been sent to prison after an act of domestic violence. She looked like a different woman. Her little girl had been of great support. She took pride in washing dishes and helping out with all sorts of housework. Both of them looked so very different from the way they did a year before. They looked much happier and healthier.
As children we were seen by others and heard by others. We certainly did have our moments. I am sure at times, we must have tested our parents’ patience. However, overall I think they were delighted with the way we followed through on the training they had given us.
But there were other areas in which we realized it was much harder to see black and white. We began to encounter the shades of right and wrong. Often children do feel passionately about subjects such as pollution, immigration, taxes and military conflicts.
Sometimes adults criticise children who demand answers to these questions. Could it be that those adults who do so, no longer know how to think outside the box? Have they become boxed-in puppets of a global commercial system that always wants more, and wants to protect what it has and not share it with others? Is it possible that they cannot see a way to address important issues without having to give up some of their material comforts?
Most people are interested in money to some extent. We all need some money. We need some money to afford shelter, food, clothing and perhaps medical costs etc. But people have widely different thoughts on how much money they need to cover the cost of those basic needs.
My parents have taught me to cultivate qualities such as contentment, modesty, a simple lifestyle, recycling, repairing my belongings etc. That has helped me to live on a very small budget ever since I left home. I find it attractive in others when they live a modest lifestyle. I would recommend judicious use of material things and thoughtful care of one’s possessions.
What about the rest of us normal folk who have to check the price of things before we buy them? Well…many of us have had times when we have to watch the pennies carefully and times when we can be a bit more relaxed and have a bit of extra cash to enjoy.
Even television shows have great power. There was a television drama broadcast here in the UK within the last couple of years. The lead actress was seen in a bright yellow waterproof in the show. Sales of bright yellow waterproofs went through the roof here!
Then there are coffee shops as we know them today. The younger generation might not realize it, but before the television series “Friends”, we did not have coffee shops here in the UK. We had cafes. But after “Friends” became a hit show, Starbucks and all sorts of other coffee chains, with comfy seats and free wifi, sprang up on every high street.
When I was in my late teens, I began to receive junk mail. Back then some companies would post a credit card out to me with a letter to say that if I wanted it, I just needed to start using the card. I had never asked for or applied for a credit card, they just sent it to me! I understand that financial companies have had to become more responsible in who they offer or extend credit to. Many people have ended up in serious trouble because they have taken on too much debt and have not been able to manage it.
This system loves to say “BUY NOW, PAY LATER”…when what they actually should say is, “BUY NOW, PAY MORE LATER”. Often that is what credit involves. Paying extra charges and interest. Your money will go further if you save and then spend, rather than spending and then having to pay extra in interest.
Pyramid schemes, timeshares, get rich quick schemes – there have been so many scams! Often the fool falls for them because they get so excited about the idea of huge profits from a relatively small investment. Whereas, the wiser are aware that “IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT USUALLY IS!” What makes people fall for the bait? Could it be a touch of greed? It sometimes seems as if there are bloggers on WordPress who seem to think that blogging is a “get rich quick” scheme. Well, I can’t say anything on that subject, I have never made a penny from blogging.
Money is a necessary tool. It is satisfying to go out and work with our own mental or physical abilities and to earn a fair wage. We know that we put time and effort in to earn that money. So we ought to use it wisely. After we have covered our basic needs, we should think about how we can use spare money to show hospitality to others and forge strong friendships. After that, we may find we have wants that will help us to enjoy life.
So…first I am going to say this…if it is broken, fix it carefully. I am thinking of broken bones, broken hearts, broken bonds. They need to be realigned properly, otherwise more damage can be done.
I am not ignorant of the risks that come with parochialism. I do believe everyone should be willing to make adjustments to the way they work (or in other areas) that would have better results. However, a pedantic tyrant, fixated with achieving their goal, is scary! They seem to lack appreciation for the hard work and loyalty that others have consistently displayed. I’ve seen some ugly situations develop, where those in authority had the attitude of “if you don’t like the changes I’m bringing in, then leave”! Trying to force through lots of changes all at the same time is like trying to disassemble and rebuild an aeroplane while it is in mid-flight. It is frankly terrifying!
I know I have done it myself. My beloved and I might be getting on swimmingly, and then some random thought pops into my head that somehow we are not where we should be on the relationship scale. I become fixated with the fine details. I try to complicate matters, discuss terms and agreements, and I even use the C-word (that’s “commitment”, in case you were wondering!)
I have had to remind myself that my beloved might just want to take things at a more leisurely, less formal pace, and not feel pushed to make any pledges or promises before he is inclined. I have had to adjust my thinking and accept that I should make the most of what I have and look after it. I shouldn’t perceive ways in which a relationship that is absolutely delightful needs “fixing”.
I read a little on the origin of this expression and it’s intended meaning on Wikipedia. It is ascribed to as coming from Alexander Pope back at the start of the eighteenth century. I guess the driving force behind is that the inexperienced often rush into situations that those who are wiser and more experienced are cautious over. Often the result would be harmful.
However…I have been working on some posts for Bee’s 
That other post of mine, it is an excellent post, full of logic and wisdom. But the memory of staying over in Goldfinch’s man-cave for the first time, laying in his arms while he played this song, has made me change my mind completely.
Well…at first I was not sure what to do with today’s adage. I have been out all day and I am not feeling very creative this evening. I just want to crawl to bed and rest my painful head. Major headache raging all day!
I have felt that way with Jack in recent months. It’s been a very rocky ride, there was a lot of pain and sadness along the way. However now…what a complete reverse in our situation! All the trouble seems to have faded into insignificance. All that matters now is the wonderful ending.
Caramel 