Narrowing It Down

In high school I was a sprinter. I ran the 100, 200, and 400 meter races. I long jumped. I competed in sports that required my speed -- basketball, softball, volleyball, and yes, even badmitton. I liked fast and I still do. My brain even works fast. I think 10 steps ahead with contingency plans along the way.

Ann, on the other hand, moves at one speed. I kid her about this, but it's the truth. One speed. She does not hurry and if pushed to hurry she gets flustered and snippy, she shuts down and gets quiet. She considers all options before she makes a move and sometimes this can take days or weeks.

When her father died last spring, she spent months talking with her financial planner about the best choices for the inheritance. Meanwhile, papers needed to be signed and the longer Ann took to sign the papers, the longer her brother, but mostly her sister had to wait (her sister was much more anxious and in need of the money). So her sister would call and sometimes her brother, but her brother calling was always a relaxed conversation as he explained the details of being executor of the estate. Phone calls with her sister are rare, but for about 3 weeks, Ann received 3-4 phone calls a week and though they'd start out, "How are you?" they'd end up with, "When are you going to sign the papers?"

Now that Ann has signed the papers and distributed her money into well-researched funds, her sister no longer calls on a weekly or even monthly basis.

But that is neither here nor there. The point is, Ann is thoughtful and takes her time with important decisions and even the unimportant ones.

Being a sprinter, it can drive me crazy. I like to make and act on my decisions. Like right now, I've decided to shift from teaching into dog training, but I must complete the next 6 months of my contract. It's difficult because while I teach during the day, I train dogs three nights a week. During the day, I rarely feel joy. During the night training classes I feel joy every moment.

But I must be patient. It's a distance race not a sprint and so I must conserve my energy if I expect to see the finish line.

So, while Ann flew out of town to visit her sister who is recovering (quite nicely) from her masectomy (her only sister and hence the one who rarely calls unless money is involved), I started researching the purchase of a new car.

In a previous post I spelled out my dilemma. Hybrid or bio-diesel? Small car or SUV? Do we own two cars instead of one? Do we sell our car now and buy something new and environmentally friendly? Or do we buy two cars and sell our old one?

I did my research and have surmised that we need a Ford Escape Hybrid. Though I'd prefer a 2007, there aren't that many out there and so I am stuck looking at the 2008. But part of my dilemma is still there -- do we own one car or two? Do we sell our Toyota 4Runner or keep it, adding a hybrid to our family?

If I were living on my own, I'd go out tomorrow and sell our SUV and buy the Ford.

But I live with Ann and she doesn't sprint to her decisions.

So, while she was away I wrote out the 4 options we have for purchasing a car. While Ann appreciated it she still is not ready to make a decision.

Meanwhile, I'm in my anxious mode. "If we find a 2007 Ford Escape, I think we should buy it," I tell her.

"Why?"

"Because they have better gas mileage than the 2008's and Click and Clack think it's a better deal, but there aren't that many out there so we must jump on any opportunity."

Silence.

"What do you think?"

Silence.

And then, "I'm not ready to make this decision. Let's talk about it when I'm not so tired."

Sprint, sprint, sprint. My heart is surging ahead and now I must wait. I am not good at waiting, though I know Ann's way of making decisions is probably more advisable. Still, now that I've done all my research and narrowed it down, it feels time to act.

I am the hare clicking away at the computer comparison shopping.

My tortise is asleep on the couch. The TV is on and lo and behold, an ad for a Ford Escape Hybrid comes on.

Wake up, wake up!

But if I've learned anything it's that an anxious hare cannot rouse of resting tortise.