When I was suddenly and unexpectedly put in charge of the swan collection, I was thrilled beyond belief; but I was also worried about those things I knew that I would need to do – things I had never been shown how to do. Necessity is the mother of invention, so they say, and eventually I figured out how to build traps in the water and out of the water, and how to make pens that were predator-proof, not to mention, how to trap the swans when I needed to band and wing-clip them. I had to do these things entirely on my own so it was not only necessary that I figure out how to do them; I needed to do them without a second pair of hands or eyes.
I have been “winging it” for most of my life. Like many divorced women, I have discovered an inner strength and tenacity that I would never have realized I had, if I had been wrapped in the comfort of a loving relationship. We learn to “fake it till we make it” and to focus on solutions rather than problems. Many of us discover that we are better off alone because for some reason that I cannot fathom, many men are not attracted to strong women. They prefer that we remain weak and dependent, or completely helpless.
I am currently being challenged with my chicken coop project. Three days ago I mounted two perches in the coop, but the chickens were not using them. This, I learned, was because the perches were too high and too far apart. This morning I managed to lower one of them. I have the concept in my head and a basic understanding of what needs to be done. The problem is that I am having to screw my support pieces into a sheet of paneling that is only about 1/8th inch thick, so the supports are not holding as securely as I would like them to. If this was a class designed to teach me woodworking or basic construction, I would be failing miserably. Fortunately, I don’t have to please anyone except myself, and my chickens, of course. I will continue to “wing it” knowing that eventually I will get it right, or at least good enough.
