I occasionally do this thing where I decide that I am going to do something. Sometimes, this want culminates in house plants and pet fish and then a planted aquarium.
Here’s how it starts: I spend countless hours researching and compiling information and planning out how I would go about the task, and then researching tools and equipments and learning from others (manly through YouTube) successes and failures. I research and research and research until I’ve scavenged the internet and found everything that I would need to know before starting a task, and then some. The difficult part is that I never actually get around to doing the thing.
The other day, I woke up and decided that beekeeping was the thing for me. I like honey, heck, I love honey. What’s not to love?
And then there’s beeswax. And helping with pollination and the many, many other benefits of bees that I have not quite been able to compile into a list. But, there is beeswax, which could help with a few other hobbies that I’ve looked into and never started (see candle making and soap making). And I think that the thing that’s holding me back from starting these things is the startup costs. I am by no means saying that I dream of opening a shop or something, but I have this habit of researching things and not starting them. And, I don’t want to begin a habit of starting a project and not finishing it (some lovely people are currently on me about some TV shows and book series that I’ve never finished). With the fish and the house plants, I can see when something needs done and I do it (plant maintenance and tank maintenance has become a soothing weekly routine). Continually checking on the plants and the fish needs to happen. These are living things. But, soap and candles may be dropped without that remorseful kind of loss. Back to the bees, in case you were still curious.
After researching and giving it a good think, I’ve decided that it may not be the best plan for right now. Beekeeping in my current area with many neighborhood pets and children and the ever present HOA would probably not be the best thing in the world. But, it’s one thing on the list of lost wants.
But, I do want to start working on something. I would love to make soaps that I enjoy using. I would love to send them off to friends and family and gather their thoughts. I would enjoy burning as many wood wick candles as my bedroom would allow. Honestly, these things would be fulfilling. I just don’t want to lose the want.
And, because I keep forgetting to actually do this, a rare photo of all 6 tetras. The one with the missing gill plate is totally fine, the pet store sold him to me that way over a year ago. And, he’s been perfectly happy. The algae, however, is the bane of my existence and I can’t get rid of the stuff fast enough.
Leah Kristin 