Stupid Sappy Sticky Stuff!!!

I just got all sticky! Again. I hate getting stuck!  It happens far too often.  You'd think I'd learn.

Nope, I'm not talking about getting bogged down with something. Instead I'm talking about getting all sticky and then getting stuck on everything else. There are lots of sticky things in life - pancake syrup, dried soda pop or Kool-aid, forgotten drips of ice cream, and the moms among us can think of a whole lot more - but maybe none so nasty sticky as tree sap, also known as pitch. Stupid sticky stuff!  Yuck!!! I really do hate the stuff. At our new place my lawn chairs keep getting attacked by sap dripping from the trees above - setting the stage for mega-doses of frustration. You'd think I'd learn to protect them - and I do try, but not always successfully.

Sure enough, the silent enemy sat lurking on the arm of my chair today, lying in wait for the next unsuspecting victim - who happened to be me. Once I discovered the damage, it was too late - even though it was only the beginning! I now had sap on my elbow - so since we live on a Christmas tree farm I headed for the bottle of pitch remover.  I scrubbed and scrubbed until I thought that I got rid of it and then re-scrubbed with soap and water to wash off the pitch remover. Alas! To my dismay I discovered sometime later that I had NOT indeed gotten rid of it all, but that there were still a couple spots that had now been generously transferred to the corner of my desk as I typed.

Go for the pitch remover.  AGAIN. Think we have it all off this time. Clean off the corner of the desk as well. Put everything away. Back to work. Oops! Still sticky corner and sticky elbow - although unsure this time which is villain and which is victim. Which is the stick-er and which is the stick-ee. Grrrr...

What in the world?!?!? Evidently, something is inferior and ineffective about my method of cleaning - even though I have gone back to the bottle numerous repeated times and although I have gotten more aggressive with each repeat. What am I to do? One side of the napkin that I grabbed to try to run interference is now sticking to the desk, the other side sticking to my elbow. In the meantime, my shirt has picked up a piece of the action as well (of course!) so now I also have to figure out how to handle such matters on a laundry level.

How frustrating! Makes me want to stomp my feet and scream about how much I hate sap. Yah, I'm pretty sure that would help me feel so much better and would instantly solve everything.

...

Then I start thinking about other messes and other times that I get annoyed or stuck. I get into a sticky situation which then messes up everything else that I try to do. Over-commitments, unrealistic and unmet expectations, not getting my own way, not getting enough sleep, too much clutter, too little patience, my tendency to control things and fix people, my need to be right, frustration and irritability spilling out in harsh words... all of these can land me in sappy messes. The harder I try to clean it up and move on, the more places my mess seems to show up.

Why do I let myself get into such sticky spots? And how do I extricate myself without causing further unnecessary damage.

Often the trigger is something beyond my control but there are times when I could have avoided the whole mess if I had paid more careful attention before sitting myself down. Healthy boundaries, regular de-cluttering and other wise practices can be good preventive measures, but must be regularly monitored and repaired when necessary because boundaries will be busted, clutter builds up again, and selfishness surfaces quickly.

As for a solution once I have gotten into the sticky mess, well, I'm afraid I still don't know of any pitch remover that really works magic. Sometimes I have to work hard to scrub away the mess, but I am really sad to say that sometimes I guess I need to just let that sticky sap wear off - even though it will take time and I do not like that feeling. When that lesson is applied to my other messes, it is really hard for a fixer like me to just "let it go" and let things work themselves out but sometimes I have to. 

...

Sure enough; that's what I've been learning lately - that I can't always fix things.  Drats!  That sometimes I just have to accept what is.  Phooey.  That's not comfortable; not comfortable at all.