Master Gardeners introduction

Choices can sometimes be funny things. You make the best choice you can at any given moment, weighing all the options and possible outcomes, and choose. Sometimes the choices can be hard, sometimes they can be easy, but it seems like you always need to make a choice. As the Rush song goes, "Even if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."

Take today, for instance.

Today was the second of two introductory meetings for the Santa Clara County Master Gardeners program. The program accepts around 65 applicants every two years, from around 150 applicants. Attendance at one of the two meetings is mandatory, so I had to choose between attending last Friday's morning meeting at 10 am or this afternoon at 1:00 pm.

Last week, Mike was stressed about a project and the timing of some house inspections, so said going to the Friday morning meeting would be less desirable than today's Tuesday afternoon meeting. Okay, no problem.

Until flights were cancelled, inspections postponed, project delayed and work wasn't done. Push came to shove and, what do you know, the Friday morning demo that prevented me from going to the first intro meeting is scheduled for this afternoon. What? I'm still going to the meeting?

On the drive over to the meeting, I couldn't help but think that the choices for immediate gratification are so often not the best choices to make. The worry of the moment became a non-worry as the demo was postponed.

Perhaps it would be better to schedule the inflexible events that can't/won't change than to try to hit a moving target. But, even then which choice is better is unclear because each one happens during a local stress maximum.

The only thought I could think was, the best choice would be to do what needs to be done, as soon as it can be done, instead of postponing it.

How many times during school would I have benefitted from that advice? The answer would surely boggle the mind.