There are all kinds of ideas. Some build slowly in your mind, based on a collection of knowledge and experience, until finally something becomes crystal clear and obvious. Those ideas can be compelling because there is evidence to support them. I have had many I Have Finally Figured It Out ideas, or Based On What We Know, I Think We Should ideas, over the years. Some ideas, though, are spontaneous; the kind that pop into your head unexpectedly. For me, that happens frequently. I have no shortage of ideas.
Many of my ideas come with a driving force, a determined decision that this is going to happen and nothing under the sun can stop me from doing it. This is a well-known phenomenon in my family. Famously, I will perk up and call out “I’ve got an idea!” From then on, it is full speed ahead, get on board or get out of the way. I have done it countless times, with different degrees of success.
I’ve got an idea! I’ll tile the kitchen floor! Do you know how? No, but it’s never stopped me before!
I’ve got an idea! I’m going to repaint the furniture in my classroom! Aren’t we just here to buy a screwdriver? Hold on, I'm going to the paint department!
I’ve got an idea! We’ll go camping! Now? Yes, I’m in the garage trying to find camping equipment!
I’ve got an idea! I’ll build an herb garden in a raised bed using large river rock! We don’t have river rock. I’m heading to the river to collect some now!
I’ve got an idea! I’ll paint all the wood paneling in the den! Do you know what you are doing? I’ll figure it out as I go!
I have had A LOT of ideas over the years. The determination that I feel when an idea appears, reminds me of my grandmother. She, too, would stop at nothing when she decided that something needed to be done. A story I remember her telling was when, as a young working mother, she was concerned about not having time to clean her house. She was a germ-a-phobe and cleaning fanatic. My granddaddy woke around 4:00am to be at work before 5:00am every day. After getting him out the door, she got dressed, tended to her little girl (my mother) to sent her off to school, and then headed off to work. After a full day working at her bookkeeping job, she returned home to cook dinner, do light housekeeping, and tend to family needs. On weekends, there was always a project to tackle, or some time-consuming event, which left her little time to do larger cleaning projects. If my granddaddy considered a project to be necessary, he would make time to help her. Windows would be washed periodically, porch floors would be scrubbed occasionally, closets would be straightened as needed. But, if he didn’t agree with or understand her vision of cleanliness, he would dismiss her idea and schedule other projects instead.
Even with knowing the obstacles in front of her, my grandmother got an idea that she should clean a wall inside her house. I have no idea what was wrong with the wall. Was it the only wall that needed cleaning? Is that a thing? Cleaning your walls? I don’t know. But, as she told me, she decided that she would CLEAN THAT WALL, no matter what it took.
The project involved getting up at 3:00am on consecutive days, carrying ladders and buckets, putting them in place, then removing them, so as not to be in the way. She segmented the wall into smaller portions to be tackled each morning and devised who knows what combination of strategies to get the job done. She was very proud of the effort she made to complete this monumental, difficult task. I tell you this, not to analyze the power struggle or relationship between my grandparents, but to illustrate the strong determination of my heritage. I, too, have forged ahead, no matter how painful, no matter how ridiculous, no matter how unnecessary it might have seemed to bystanders. If I want this project to be done, I will get it done. You can’t stop me. And the project can’t defeat me! I can assure you, though, the one idea I have never had is cleaning the wall. My ideas are not about routine maintenance. My ideas are WOW! What a great idea! ideas.
One idea that I am forever thankful that I had, was filming family videos. Remember, there was a time when people did not have video equipment at their fingertips 24/7. At the turn of the century (can’t we say that about the year 2000?!), we owned a video camera which recorded on VHS-style tapes. We had sporadically video’d the kids at various stages of life, but more often, forgot to keep up. One day, I had an idea! We could get costumes and props and record a video. Come on kids, let’s PUT ON A SHOW! The time between the idea popping into my head and the first moment of ACTION was about an hour. That was an hour of searching closets for costume materials, quickly reading through books to formulate the script, rummaging through the garage for props, and pushing furniture hither and thither to make a stage area. We recorded a video of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, which was narrated by me, starring my kids, who acted out all the scenes, including a daring segment on the roof in reindeer ears and Santa suit. That video became our Christmas present for all the relatives.
But, we could do better! A few years later, I had another idea! I tackled A Christmas Carol, rewrote a condensed script and convinced my family members to participate. This required memorizing their lines and maintaining a cooperative attitude. Our video equipment was paltry, and we had no editing tools. But, we had semi-willing actors, who, when it came down to it, wanted to do a good job, as long as it didn’t take too long. Even my husband Rob, got involved, and let me tell you, as Ebeneezer Scrooge, he nailed it. Another Christmas present for the relatives!
Third time’s a charm, so we did it again. I convinced the family to stick with me one more year, because this was a great idea! This time, I put together a short script for the Charlie Brown Christmas story. Each kid had a breakout performance and our dog played Snoopy. LeeAnn, at four years old, standing in a spotlight on our hearth, reciting “I can tell you what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown…” Oh, it gets me every time. Guess what, relatives? Another gem for your collection!
Charlie Brown! 
Lucy! 
Linus! 
Pig Pen! 
Schroeder! 
Snoopy!
To my family, our video productions, I’m sure, felt like oh no, here she goes again. The kids got older, and as time went by, there was less chance of getting the band back together to film anymore. Nowadays, videos are a dime a dozen, because everyone is recording everyone all the time. But, I would suggest, if you ever have an opportunity to do something like we did, it is a fantastic thing to do. Every year, we pull out our Christmas productions and watch, remarking on how young we were, remembering things that were going on at the time, questioning our clothing choices, laughing at our mess-ups, or admiring our poise. They are cherished memories that we can relive over and over, and I am so glad we made them. I am so glad that idea popped into my head when the kids were young. I wouldn’t trade the family videos for anything. Candid videos are fun to watch, but there’s something about the storyline, the acting, and the cooperative effort that we put into our low-budget Christmas productions that make them extremely special.
Now, I’m sitting on our back deck, and I've got an idea! If we got rid of this big table and rearranged the furniture…. see like this…. and moved this chair over here, and slightly behind this.... we could make a great space with more room for stretching out… then we could get snack tables beside each chair…. then we could get a small futon to fit right here… lemme get online to see if I can find one….
You are probably thinking how glad you are that you don’t live with me. I get it. It can be difficult. But, c’mon guys, it can also be fun! You never know what’s coming next. And, listening to me--you never know, it might give YOU
A GREAT IDEA!