Small Irritations – The Legacy of Flies
Nothing rouses me to determined resolve like the catastrophe of a fly in the house. I stalk from room to room crouching – whacker at the ready.
You know you’re rich beyond belief when the day’s biggest irritation is a musca domesticain buzzing in the kitchen.
We recently bought a four-pack of fly whackers. (Another sign of wealth.) You can’t have too many implements of execution for flying rodents. One waits in the kitchen, and one is at the ready in my office. Two spares in the closet provide peace of mind. Sometimes I take a spare whacker on the back deck to prove my prowess by assassinating foolhardy antagonists.
A fly’s legacy is the stain it leaves when you kill it. I tried to prevent their legacy with gentle whacking, but I usually just stunned them. They shook it off, laughed, and flew away.
The only thing more infuriating than a fly in the house is feeling them laugh after escaping the fly whacker. It emboldens them.
Life truth: A dead fly’s legacy is less infuriating than a living fly’s buzz.
I’m proud to say that I’ve knocked flies out of the air with my fly whacker. I flail at them like I’m caught in a swarm of hornets. Kapow! Then I leap on them before they get away. I feel like a man when I knock a fly out of the air and kill it.
Killing flies is like meditation – I wouldn’t know if the house was burning down. Nothing is more satisfying than outsmarting a fly.
Small irritations become big distractions. Or, maybe they bring out our best.
What small irritation might you solve quickly today?
What small irritation should you let go?
My day started with out loud laughter. Thank you. There are flies everywhere. Whack! Whack! Whack! Small irritations? My partner’s throat clearing when he’s eating… drives me bananas. I sometimes have to leave the room and recenter. It’s like fingernails on a chalk board. Why does it irritate me so. Sometimes I think I must be a bit off to have such a small thing create such a big reaction. You asked. I answered. I can’t solve it. One irritation that I did tackle over the past couple of days was to clear off my desk. Felt good and organized. As I sit here now, the piles are starting to take over again. Whack!
Thanks lorraine. I enjoy your comment because it’s real. Perhaps coming to grips with the reality of small irritations is a good thing. :–)
BTW…I’m with you, a neat desk is a thing of joy. A few small rituals might help with small irritations. The small ritual of clearing off a desk at the end of the day, for example. Cheers.
“I’m proud to say that I’ve knocked flies out of the air with my fly whacker… Then I leap on them before they get away.” I pictured you turning into a cat—chasing bugs and whacking them out of the air is my cat’s favorite game! Do you find that focusing on and fixing small irritations gives you the momentum to go back and solve bigger stuff?
Thanks Marti. Sometimes killing a fly is energy to tackle bigger problems. I struggle with when to let go and when to Whack! My tendency is to chase too many flies. What about you?
What small irritation might you solve quickly today? What small irritation should you let go of? My “small irritation” is waiting on others, suppliers for quotes and shipment details, customers on Purchase Orders caught in Purchasing Dynasty ques, supply chain backups, internal and external staff to do their part. I set my expectations in negative – territory these days and then I’m not disappointed because any action from others immediately moves the bar in the positive direction. It is so SAD I have to set it up this way.
Thanks Roger. I’m not sure, but some of the things I read in your comment don’t seem small. Now I’m curious on determining small vs meaningful irritations.
Dan, “small” is such a relative term so my irritations are small in the big picture if life. My larger irritations concern traffic on Southern Taxifornia freeways and whether I can safely make it through each day’s travels.
Thanks for this post, started my day with a smile! Great metaphor that most of us can relate to… I feel that the satisfaction of dealing with flies usually takes us away from the important things and we end up feeling ovewhelmed and lacking time for the important things. 🙂
Thanks Jean-MIchel. Generally my advice for to-do lists is do the big stuff first. Don’t take care of a bunch of little stuff before you get to the big stuff. If you do, you spend all your time on little stuff. Thanks for your suggestion.
Swatter vs whacker? We call them “Fly Swatters”. Growing up on the farm you learn to catch them one handed in the air. A skill that we perfected feeding our pet chickens. Nothing more gratifying! I also remember my old grandfather, who could not walk well anymore sitting with his swatter, taking them out with satisfaction!
Thanks Hellen Anne…Yes, most people call them swatters. I’ve taken to using the term whacker with our granddaughters. It seems to have a little more punch. 🙂 … It’s so comforting to kill flies. haha… it’s true.
Thanks for the smile, Dan. But now, when I chase flies, I’ll also be thinking of ways I might be following small distractions when big things need attention. Very clever hook!
Oh no!! I hate the thought that I might drain joy for a fly killer!! 🤪
Nah! The satisfaction remains. It might make me more productive, though.
What small irritation might you solve quickly today? True story this morning brought dog in from outside and on the ceiling was a “Palmetto Bug”(alias Cock roach) compliments of our daughter visiting from North Carolina at Christmas…. (Oh yes) The little rascals hitched a ride and have been a real pain needless to stay ever since, Gone…. Can I count how many traps are in the house now.. more than I know. OMG…
What small irritation should you let go? The ones I can’t control.
Good luck with the Palmetto Bugs!!
“The ones I can’t control”… genius!
you Need a Bug-A-Salt Gun
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So fun bought it for my son, now everyone in the family loves killing bugs!
That’s wonderful! Thanks Jeff!
Thanks for this insightful and entertaining blog Dan. It came at time when a senior colleague was INFURIATED at the fact that meeting time had started and the meeting participants had not finished their previous meeting in the next room.
Sooooo what was the original plan for the blog? 😀
Thanks Khawaja. It’s always infuriating when you try to control something that’s out of your control. Hmmmm
Flies, meh, but a *mosquito* loose in the house. Defcon One, baby!
🙂 Maybe the buzzing of a mosquito is worse than the buzzing of a fly!
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