Fowl Play: Dr. Carrie versus Vicious Rabbits in a Thanksgiving Tussle
In the history of weird Amazon orders, my most recent one really takes the cake. I just ordered and received a trio of predator urines. Seriously. On my kitchen counter (far, far away from where I make sandwiches and muffins and things) sit containers of bobcat, fox and coyote pee. I really don’t quite understand how this outfit obtained said pee, or if it’s synthetic or what, but it is supposed to be the key to my current problem with the rabbits.
The rabbits in my yard may look adorable and all hoppy and stuff but they have a penchant for nibbling through the wire harnesses underneath my car. Not my husband’s car, nor my daughters, not our neighbor’s cars, not anyone else who visits, but my Honda evidently has some seriously delicious wires. This is both terribly inconvenient and also quite spendy. And, so far, our efforts to dissuade the rabbits (repellent spray made from garlic and other noxious smells, wrapping the wires in rodent repellent tape) have been ineffective since this is the second year in a row that the bunnies have made Thanksgiving a little more stressful.
Now I just did a video series on the formula for life. You’ve probably heard me mention this before, but here is a refresher: A (your approach and mindset) + B (your behaviors and actions) + X (insert life’s inevitable ups and downs) = C (the life that you get, hopefully close to the life that you want). This formula basically explains why just attitude and effort don’t always add to the results you are counting on in life. Rather, we must be mindful of life’s X factor, where reality throws curve balls for us to catch, out of the blue.
When I posted the series on LinkedIn, one reader asked a terrific question: “What is it that gets in the way of most people following the formula?” The answer is easy to explain, but hard to eliminate. It’s expectations. Specifically, it’s expectations that reality will work out just how you want it to, on the timeline you have chosen. Instead, reality gives us a much more exciting and unpredictable ride. Sometimes it’s super fun, like unexpectedly running into an old friend when you stop at your local coffee shop. Sometimes it’s not so fun, like trying to turn on your car and go to the store to get the provisions for Thanksgiving dinner, only to have a car that isn’t drivable. The X factor is not necessarily negative, but it is typically unexpected.
The next time life hands you lemons, hungry rabbits or other tart surprises, sometimes it is hard to make lemonade right away. Flexing with the X factor means you have to assess what is really going on, how it is different from what you were planning, and to adjust your expectations accordingly. In my current tussle with Peter Cottontail and his furry friends, I am determined that he is going to eat elsewhere. The wire harness has been repaired and moved as far up in the car as possible and triple wrapped in rodent repellent tape. Now we are going to mark the yard just like a trio of predators would, giving the message that this car, this driveway, this yard isn’t your place to feast. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on the results.
