Washed Up Speakers and Thanksgiving

Let me tell you about our latest house project that has kept everything a construction zone: surround sound.

First it started with office shelves. He stained them, put them up, and ended up with an extra board. That’s when he looked for other places to put shelves.

Then it jumped to putting up a shelf for his surround sound in the living room. But before he could do that, holes had to be drilled into the walls and wires ran to get everything ready.

What about the speakers, you may ask? They were the original speakers from his old house, about twenty-five years old now but my husband insisted they worked good as new. He had five and ran more wire before installing them. This whole process took about a week. He hooked it all up and the sound was okay.

“Maybe we should try 7.1,” he commented. Another set of old speakers was bought.

Once they arrived more holes were drilled and wires ran, and up the speakers went. The original plan was to only put up two more speakers and set up the remaining ones in the sunroom.

“But what if…” he began, and started drilling more holes. Thus we ended up with 10.1 surround sound in our living room with twenty-five-year-old speakers that actually work pretty well. You can definitely tell the difference turned on versus turned off. Why go to the movies anymore?

When you think you’re washed up and can’t contribute anything, perhaps you just need a little help. There is strength in numbers, even if those numbers are learning new skills to teach an old dog new tricks. You’re not washed up; you’re still useful.

There have been plenty of times where I’ve felt less than stellar, like those twenty-five-year-old speakers must have felt cooped up in storage all these years. I’m sure they thought they would never be used again. But they needed just the right hookups, the right connections, and they worked just fine.

Maybe you’re looking for a nudge in the right direction. My advice to you is to weigh all your options, talk it out with people you trust, and make the best decision you can. That’s really all you can do.

Thanksgiving is this week. This year I’m thankful for all the people who believed in me taking this author’s journey and seeing me publish my books. I’m thankful for the support I’ve received in pursuing my dream. I’m thankful in knowing that when I doubt myself there are people out there who actually read my books, blog, and/or follow me on Facebook or Instagram, and I think, maybe, just maybe, there might be something to what I’m building after all. Maybe, like our speakers, I can learn new tricks.

Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers.