Ask and ye shall receive.... REALLY?

The old saying "ask and ye shall receive" was never one of my stronger things when it came to me being the one that asks.  I think I am pretty self-sufficient and as long as I put my heart into it and really try, I am capable of doing anything.  I really do not know a lot of women that can change the oil in their car, change a tire, set up a VCR/DVD combo or even fix a small appliance.  Given the proper instructions, I believe that anyone can do those things as long as they try.

Learning from mistakes is what life is all about.  Even when it comes to who you are as a person.  We all have had relationships that offered a big lesson in what we want in a partner.  We all probably mixed colors in with the whites in the laundry at least once in our lives.  We probably tried and failed at cooking something really difficult. All of these experiences enrich us and teach us.  It is really never thought of as a learning process, but as a "note to self" moment.  It is all in how we look at it.

Knowing what we like or don't like takes the courage to at least try things once.... maybe twice.  I feared sushi for years.  I finally got the courage to try it and I love it.  I even have craving for it from time to time.  Sometimes trying something new can change the way you think about a lot of things.  Since becoming a fan of sushi, I really don't like canned tuna anymore.  Some things actually taste better raw.  My point in this little drift from the true subject is to point out that experiences can change what was considered acceptable into something not liked very much.  Not hated, but moved down the list of what I really like.  The same goes for in relationships.  When I got married almost 13 years ago, I married for one set of priorities and traits that I deemed acceptable.  As the years have passed, what was not important has become really important and vise versa.

Back to me being self-sufficient.  Well, since I am able to do so much on my own, I rarely ever ask for help.  I hated inconveniencing people.  If I can do it myself, I should do it myself.  In my house, I do all the cooking and cleaning.  My husband usually takes care of the outside.  During the summer, he mows the lawn, trims the bushes, whacks the weeds.  Come winter, things change.  Besides doing the household work, I go outside and shovel the snow.  Snow happens often where I live.  No rhyme or reason, it just snows.  This is not like lawn maintenance that gets done once a week.  When it snows, I want it off my driveway and sidewalk.  I tell people it is because I want it to be safe for others, but I believe I have a bit of OCD about keeping the driveway and sidewalks clear.  Packed down snow from walking or driving on it bothers me like nails on a chalkboard.  Snowblowers cannot clear away snow the way I like it so I shovel.  If the snow is heavy, I will use the snowblower and then go over it again with the shovel.  My neighbors think I am nuts, but they appreciate my hard work when they come over.  Some even try to keep up with me.  It just pushes me harder to do more and better....LOL.

Well, today is Christmas Eve and I am having my family come over.  I have started the cooking and decided to clear the driveway once more before my family comes over.  This time because I do care about their safety.  My mom is no spring chicken and if she falls, something will break.  I did not clear the snow as well as I usually do when the freezing rain came along, so I had a small layer of snow covered in ice.  You have better traction if there is snow under the ice.  When the freezing rain stops, I shovel the ice and snow with ease.  Well, I was a bit lazy in doing that and some of the ice covered show packed down and became packed ice.  With all the cooking I am doing, I could not focus on getting my driveway done.

Going against the every fiber of my being, I prepared myself to ask for help.  My husband graciously offered to finish what I started with the shoveling.  Figuring that was just dumb luck, I went a little further.  I knew that I would not have enough time to do everything by myself, I asked for some more help.  Asking is hard for me, but now I have my husband and daughter helping me with all that I needed to do.  I even got time to blog!

The new thing I learned is that people are willing to help, if you ask for it.  If not, you are on your own.

Happy Christmas Eve everyone :)