View Full Version : Why didn't I think of that!
Wildflower is my inspiration for this thread.
Ever have these moments? Moments where you could have done something a certain way but for some apparent reason you never thought of it, even though it was staring you square in the face at the time? I've had it happen to me so many times. Like a brain-freeze or something, and it usually revolves around the simplest of things.
Wish I could think of a situation or two where it's happened to me, but I'm drawing a blank right now. Will give it further thought and post again.
Sort of like, I have this water pitcher on my kitchen counter (right in front of me, right under my nose), and I need to fill this narrow vase with water that has freshly picked flowers in it, but the vase doesn't fit under the tap, so I use a mug to fill the vase and while I'm filing the vase my oldest daughter just so happens to walk into the room and asks me what I'm doing, then she says to me, "why don't you use the pitcher mom"! Duh! Bells go off in Mrs-M's head. (Why didn't I think of that)!
That happens to me ALL of the time but I can't think of an example right now. I feel especially stupid when my husband or a 10 year old says 'why didn't you.......' and it was so obvious to all but me.
That happens to me ALL of the time but I can't think of an example right now. I feel especially stupid when my husband or a 10 year old says 'why didn't you.......' and it was so obvious to all but me.
Just thought of something that happened yesterday. After having difficulty backing an implement into a barn and voicing my consternation to my husband he said 'there is nothing in front of the door on the other end, why didn't you just open the other door and drive straight in????" Big Duh.
In my defense, however, they are very big doors and hard for me to open. I know, just an excuse for my absentmindedness.
Yes, exactly, that's EXACTLY what I'm talking about Goldensmom! :laff: Gosh, golly, gee, trying sooo hard right now to think of one that happened to me.
I find that after a vacation, I return to my work and see a few obvious and simple solutions to some long standing problems. I love it when that happens.
I think it has to do with just following our habits and routines, which are necessary for daily survival, but which can get in the way of critical thinking. After a fresh look from new eyes (the 10 year old with the great idea) or a fresh look with our own revived eyes (after vacation) we can improve those routines.
We have what we call "The Trolley," an electric vehicle that looks like a cable car. It runs in our downtown area and follows the bus lines. One coworker was telling a group of us how his daughters always have to ride the trolley when they go downtown. I chimed in with an enthusiastic, "I can't believe how that thing gets around. I see it EVERYWHERE: at the courthouse, at the mall, at the post office, at the hospital . . . !" Stunned silence. Then, one coworker cleared his throat and politely said, "There are twelve of them." Of course there are! They're like busses. Why did it never occur to me during an eight year period that there was more than one trolley? I just thought it was a huge coincidence that it was everywhere I was.
This recently happened to me. My horse's fly spray bottle needs to be in front of his stall so he can quickly be sprayed before going outside. However, the barn owner would always hang it by the pump on a blanket bar or a hook---this would always eventually ruin the pump so the sprayer would stop working. Leaving it on the floor resulted in it getting lost/kicked away/stepped on.
The other boarder tied a string with a loop around the bottle and hangs it by that. DUH!!
You guys just helped brighten my day! Reading your entries made me laugh so good!!! Thanks a bunch!
Goldensmom. Reading your post allowed me to pause and think of the frustration you might have felt over the situation. I know I get frustrated and even a little upset with myself during times like that. Sometimes I'll even remind myself as to how stupid I am, and then for the remainder of the day I quietly wonder to myself (over and over again) why I wasn't able to think for myself (better) and see an alternative solution.
Tammy. You make me feel better saying what you did, about following our habits and routines too closely.
Grendel. I laughed and laughed after reading your post. I'm envisioning you saying to yourself, "boy, wow, I can't believe how it's everywhere I am"!
Pony mom. And another great one! Yup, I'm blaming it on what Tammy mentioned, the fact that we sometimes just get so caught up in our own little world and for some apparent reason, fail to be able to think for ourselves at that particular moment.
I find that I have developed ways to get beyond that stuck feeling and into the a-ha. I do something mindless for awhile and then the answers seem to pop up (but I have more than your average clueless moments). So my supervisor was at my job back in fall and we were trying to come up with a months worth of activities for the kids. Seems easy until you need a whole month worth. I started doing a simple word search puzzle and she looked at me and laughed. We are very honest with each other so she said 'wait are you doing a puzzle at work?' about that time I had the answer to making a project work and then I was able to tell her why I was doing the puzzle. Crochet works really well too. I could solve world peace with enough yarn and time, lol
Originally posted by Zoe Girl.
Crochet works really well too. I could solve world peace with enough yarn and time, lolI like this so much. It would make for such a great sig line! Anyhow, I agree that you are definitely onto something in practicing specialized and developed ways of keeping your thoughts uncongealed. A highly commendable trait.
But I actually had one of those ah-ha moments while my husband was left wishing he'd thought of it......
Just this weekend, DH's back was out and it was left up to me to pack the truck for us to go to our art show. We get there and I unload with some show staff helpers and DH says "hey, where is the very top of the tent? It's a $1200 tent and the two top pieces form an X for the arch of the tent. I did pack the 4 curved pieces for each corner just not the X pieces. It was going to be hot and sunny all weekend we really needed our tent top. He is stomping around fussing and fuming and I run off to Lowes and come back with 3 l0' pieces of pcp pipe. and a hack saw. He is still stomping around saying it won't work because the tent arch is 14' on a 10x10 base. I take one pcp pipe and cut it into 4 sections and put those down each of the corner curved pieces to create a stopping point for the longer pieces, take the other two pcp pipes and run them in the X shape into the arch pieces. Throw a zip tie around the very center and done! It worked perfect and he ended up being very thankful for my quick thinking.
Ingenuity at it's finest! Good on you Float On! I'll just bet you even had a little rosy glow in your cheeks after.
Not too toot my own horn, but I'm often the person who comes out with "why don't you just do XY and Z??". I think this is because I find fault with things easily and am always trying to make stuff more efficient/economical/user-friendly, etc. Finding fault is NOT always a great trait though, hehe!
I remember once when I was about 14 my dad brought home a few sew-on patches that his team was meant to attach to their uniforms (he was in the Navy). The patches had white lettering on a black background. Of course, the lettering had been stitched on, so the white thread was visible connecting one word to the next (not very professional-looking). He explained the dilemma and I disappeared for a second and returned with a black marker. Coloured in the superfluous thread, et voilą! He then asked me "Why couldn't I or ten other guys think of that??"
Mira. You go girl, go ahead and toot your horn all you like!!! Quality brainstorms are brilliant and well deserving of credit. :)
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