You can tell a lot about your contractor if...

"The cobbler's kids have no shoes"

I bet if you asked the people in your life that you rely on for various services about the above statement they, like me, would probably reply with a smirk and say that statement applies to them more often than not.  Go ahead, next time you have your car in for a new set of tires ask your mechanic what shape his tires are in.  If he's quick he would reply with the nonsensical: "Round, of course."  If he is truthful you might find out that you are not the only one in need of new treads, this is a common theme for many service providers.  My friend, the dreaded accountant (I mean no ill will, ma'am) is the last to get her taxes filed.  This is the case because she is making sure all her clients are taken care of, just last year she told me she filed for an extension for herself.

So what does this say about these individuals? Are they disorganized, unable to finish simple tasks? Or are they simply trying to make a living in their craft, citing their chief responsibility to take care of their customers?  I prefer the latter. After all, I have so many projects around my own house waiting to be finished or even started(!).  Here's a list I have been working on for....er...quite some time:

Pay no attention to the date listed on the top....The funniest thing I find with this list is that it only has four main items on it.  Believe me when I say there are many more, most notable that hasn't made it to any list (that I know of) is to clean the garage.  My guess here is that the need to clean the garage is a constant, a need that will never be satisfied, as if life in general has a constant thirst for a clean garage...

Everyone has a list of things they would like to accomplish, some short but others longer.  My point being, and in reference to the title of this post, you can tell a lot about someone if you take a minute to consider the outlying details.  The story of my tax filing friend, not much unlike myself.  For example: I tend to worry more about my customers energy saving needs than my own almost to a fault, after-all, I probably could have saved enough energy to do the job three times if I had just finished insulating the rest of my mechanical room piping alone.  Oh, and don't get me started on the rainwater reclamation, that's a whole other story in and of itself.

Bottom line is this:  my kids have shoes (think plumbing), they might have an easier time finding their stuff in the garage if it were a little tidier but none of my customers are without.  I will always keep my customers needs close to my heart. Now, lets see what I can do about item number one....