More Crab, Less Weeds
For the first time in my life, I had crab legs this past weekend! I’ve had crab dip and crab cakes but never had the experience of cracking and eating crab legs.
It was a delicious meal, but also a lot of work. We ate at the Surf Shack near our home and they included shrimp as well. I have experience peeling shrimp, which is also work but a simpler process. It took me a while to get the hang of this new skill of cracking the crab leg and carefully pulling the crab out. But after a while I started having that satisfying experience when you do this right and a large piece of crab meat slides out of the leg, ready to dip in butter and enjoy!
I’ve also been doing a lot of weeding in our flower beds at Phantom History House, and I was struck this week (after the crab leg meal) how similar the process was. Weeding also takes a lot of patience, and the process is slow and laborious. However there are moments of great satisfaction when you pull a weed and a long root pulls out off the ground. You know this weed is gone for good!
With both experiences I found that I needed to relax and slow down and take my time. There was a rhythm to the crab leg process which allowed me to methodically work my way through the meal. Trying to get in a hurry only caused more work. Likewise, trying to rush the weed-pulling usually means you only get the surface weed and not the roots. Ultimately this is not going to serve me well, as I’ll be back to that same spot soon enough trying again. But if I take the time to expose the plant and pull slowly, I often get the entire weed, similarly to the entire piece of crab meat.
Taking the time to slow down and not rush served me well both times. So much of life is like this. Progress in the gym is measured in months and years, not days. But the arc of health and growth is there. Building a strong and successful band program takes time and planning and the right culture, something that is built over time. And our new Bed and Breakfast, Phantom History House, is a new business that people really enjoy but which is taking its own time for people to find us. We keep learning how to make this business successful, and we’re so thankful for all the wonderful people who have shown up to work with us.
The world is full of “over night successes” who have been working at their craft for years if not decades. So whether enjoying a seafood dinner or making flower beds more beautiful, we need to slow down and breathe and work the way it works. Slow down. Breathe. Take care of yourself and keep your perspective in place. Good things take time, but are definitely worth the effort.
Tim Hinton
May 16, 2024
Pictured: My husband Steve excited about his meal.
