Of all my many faults, the one that causes me the most trouble in life is this: I overlook the obvious. Also known in some circles as "can't see the forest for the trees". I am oftentimes so focused on the future, my next big idea, whatever might be just around the corner, that I completely miss an obvious solution to a nagging problem.
Take for example the bathrooms in my house. I've previously explained what I want to do here and here and channeled Scarlett O'Hara here, but what it comes down to is this: Both bathrooms are varying degrees of ugly, one has no heat, and I have this big and expensive idea to fix all that. And because I've made that decision and am saving up the money for it, I am blind to any other possibility. Until yesterday, that is. Yesterday I noticed that September 22nd is the first day of Fall and so, since Winter follows Fall, I began my yearly tirade about how I hate cold weather and taking showers in a freezing-cold bathroom and paying high gas bills and raking leaves from trees that aren't even mine and—
And the Sgt. Major interrupted me to ask, "Well why don't you just put in a hand-held shower in that bathroom next to your bedroom?"
I stopped mid-rant. Why, indeed. There's a tub in there, that bathroom will be warm in winter, and it's a cheap temporary solution. We de-camped from our usual spot on the front porch and went to Wal-Mart. Fifty bucks and 45 minutes later, I'd attached a hand-held shower to the former location of the tub spout and he'd hung a shower curtain from a tension rod.
It's the best idea I never had.