When it comes to procastination, I should say that I am one of the royals of procastination. I never liked getting anything done at the appropriate time. I would always dish out this mantra, " I will do it later or I will get to it soon". This practice of mine also tagged along with me to examination period. I would have ample time to read but as usual I would "push it till later" and only just rummage through the pages of my textbook, some hours to the examination. How I managed to get to the top five students list in school surprised me then.
An incident that would have claimed lives still lingers in my memory like a stain refusing to leave. I learnt the true power behind the popular proverb....
"A stitch in time saves nine".
It happened almost eight years ago.on a Sunday evening. I was in my room, snuggled in bed while watching a movie on my phone. Of course, for maximum enjoyment I had my headphone connected to my phone and I dived in to the cinematic universe. I felt at ease, on top of the world even, cause all was just right at that moment in time.
I had cooked lunch prior to my movie time. While I was tidying up the kitchen, my instincts kicked in. Something was pulling me to check on my gas handle to see if it was secure but as usual, I pushed that thought to the back of mind while chanting "I will get to it later". I had no idea that something was amiss or that something untoward was going to happen.
My kid brother who came to vacation at my place was also at home with me. He was in the living room typing away at his phone to "who knows who" but as long as he didn't bother me, then all is good and well.
There I was deeply engrossed in the movie I was watching when I felt a strong pull on my legs. "Who the heck is that" I screamed as I flailed my legs like a mad woman. After sone seconds of leg flailing and panting, I sat up to stare angrily at my brother who was standing with arms akimbo by the edge of the bed.
"Hey! What was that for? Couldn't you have called out my name?" I asked looking at him with an "unbelievable" expression.
"I did call out your name sis, thrice actually but your headphones were getting in the way and so I thought of doing something to bring you back to Earth" he replied chuckling.
Seething with anger but also trying not to "chop off his head, I asked nicely...."So what do you want?"*
"Let me ask something as well sis, did you check the gas stove handle to see of it was closed tightly?"
"Eh...ehm .... I think I did put it off but I was going to check if it was closed tightly later. I simply want to finish this movie okay", I replied.
"Hmm, sis do you know your little game of procastination would have set this whole building on fire?" He asked again.
Sitting straight up with full alertness, anger flying out the window, I asked calmly, "What do you mean by that?" And that was how my brother explained how he had caught the scent of an unpleasant odour and he traced it to the kitchen only to discover that there was a gas leak. The entire kitchen atmosphere was already saturated with smell of liquified petroleum gas.
My brother said he froze for a bit but then he recalled a training video he had seen where a towel soaked in water was used to hande such a case and that was what he did. He took out a kitchen towel, soaked it in water and bravely used it to turn the knob of the gas stove handle gently until it was tightly shut. He waited a while to allow diffusion of the gas take place and when he felt like it was cleared, he came to my room to tell me. Only, he met me in a state of excitement rather that that of anxiety like he was in.
After my little brother's narration, I felt cold chills all over my body with goosebumps flooding my skin as proof. "Oh my God! What have I done?" I asked no one in particular because I already knew the answer.
Had my brother not been indoors with me, there could have been a major fire accident caused by a gas leak. My brother's quick thinking saved us all. He took the initiative while I was procastinating. Indeed *a stitch in time saves nine" well maybe in my case, it saved more than nine.
Thank you all for reading... Shalom
Images used are Ai generated.
