Ants, ants, where are the guys?

I’ve learned in my life that it’s the little things that get you down.

You would think that the big things are the ones that take up most of your time. But those big things grab attention from the start. You know they’re there, you know you have to do something about it, and you do.

The little things in life, usually unnoticed and ignored, cause most problems.

Everyone has their definition of what a “little problem” really is.

A small problem for me is finding the pen I need for a particular project. I have a different pen for each project and I don’t like to mix them up. Someone in the family thinks it’s crazy that I have that kind of problem. But everyone is crazy in some way.

Another little problem for me would be finding the right book to do some research during the day. Believe me, that little problem can turn into a big problem at the end of the day.

But then there is the Gracious Lady of the Parochial House.

Never ran into a problem that he couldn’t fix and fix right away. No problem, in his mind, goes unsolved right now.

Sometime this year, we will celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. For 50 years I have lived with her and learned a few things about her.

For example, when something isn’t working right, it stops what it’s doing and fixes it, and if it can’t be fixed, then it’s not really broken.

This is quite different to me. There is nothing I can fix. If it ain’t broke, I can’t even fix it. That’s why we make an excellent team.

There’s nothing she can’t break and there’s nothing she can’t fix. What team do we make?

There’s nothing too big that she can’t fix and fix right away. I’ve always appreciated that, and I can’t imagine how much money we’ve saved by not hiring people to come in and fix something.

Truth be told, I never noticed anything was broken until my wife fixed it. What would be our home if she wasn’t near her?

But recently I discovered something new about her.

My wife, daughter, and granddaughter spent three days shopping at thrift stores in St. Augustine. That meant that I was in charge of the house for three days. I still don’t understand why he left me in charge for so long, but I don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

Anyway, I was in charge, and I tried to be as careful as possible, not to get into any trouble. However, someone in the house dropped some cat food by the door while feeding the cats. I am not at liberty to reveal the name of that person.

I never encountered any problems those three days and I enjoyed myself; At least I thought I was having fun.

My wife came home on a Thursday, and we went to bed that night, and early the next morning, while I was shaving, I heard a loud voice coming from the kitchen area.

“What are you doing here?”

I almost cut myself shaving, thinking we had an intruder, so I better go out and see what’s up.

When I got to the kitchen, my wife was standing in the doorway, looking down with a spray can in her hand, yelling, “Get out of here and never come back.”

He didn’t know what he was talking about or who he was talking to. As I got closer, I looked down at the floor and to my surprise there was an entire colony of ants that had invaded her kitchen. I had never seen so many ants in my entire life.

I was afraid to ask what I could do because he probably would have told me.

I try to support her for the next hour while she gets those ants out of her kitchen. Most of them did not survive. When it was over, I thought that it would be over and we could get on with our lives. After all, an ant is a tiny thing and, in my opinion, is easily removed.

By the afternoon, I had completely forgotten about the morning incident.

We went to bed that night, as usual, thinking that everything was fine.

The next morning, while I was shaving in the bathroom, I heard her yell again, “You’re not back, are you?”

I had forgotten about yesterday, so I ran out to the kitchen to see what was going on in the world.

There at the door my wife was looking down and screaming and spraying something and I noticed it was the ants again.

“I told you not to come back anymore!”

They came back again, and for the next few days, they came back every morning. Finally, my wife got her way and the ants disappeared. I have no idea where they went, but I hope they don’t come back again, or they’ll be in deep trouble.

During the day, I thought of the Bible verse that says, “Ants are a weak people, but they prepare their food in the summer” (Proverbs 30:25).

Ants are so small and yet they can create a big problem if they are not taken care of. Where are the uncles?