Mission Opossumble

I picked up dead opossum today…or as we say in Texas, a possum.?I’m no hero. I’m just an ordinary, run of the mill suburbanite. The guy who works out to stay “a yittle bit fat” like my youngest daughter once told me from her car seat years ago. I’m not even on the HOA. But yes, I picked up a dead possum today.

This morning during a run, as I crossed the street in my neighborhood, still shaking the cobwebs from last night’s sleep, I was caught off guard by a dead animal nestled in the gutter right up against the curb. I may or may not have high-stepped and squealed like a 5th grade girl (no offense 5th grade girls).?As I jogged past his lifeless body, I looked carefully to ensure he wasn’t about to go all Over the Hedge William Shatner on me and stand-up yelling “goodbye cruel world… ‘Rosebud?’” Alas, he did not. He was dead. Turning to make sure no one heard me shriek, I continued my run with Jason Bourne-like awareness of all my surroundings.?

Not long after my possum encounter, I was reminded of my last possum siting just a few months prior. That time, the animal had died in a neighbor’s yard, and I was appalled that they had not bothered to pick up the carcass. Days passed, then weeks…each time I passed it I was annoyed. Then one day, while walking the dogs with my family, we passed the house: no possum. I made note of it (out loud) and expressed my displeasure for having to see the dead animal day after day, week after week. After my adult whine session subsided, my 21-year-old son asked me nonchalantly, “Don’t you have a shovel?” The way he said it wasn’t disrespectful or argumentative. It was a simple question and was in no way meant to be passive aggressive. I got the feeling he was actually looking for an answer. And suddenly, my once confident, annoyed, strong voice turned into a silent, barely audible, “Uhm, yeah, good point.” So, this morning, I answered Jack’s call. I finished my run, grabbed my shovel, work gloves, and a few trash bags, jumped in my Jeep Wrangler and drove down and disposed of the dead animal in the neighbor’s backyard…(just kidding.)

So what?

Ya know, sometimes there are tasks in my day, both professionally and personally, that “aren’t my job.” It’s easy for me to pass by day after day, week after week complaining about the circumstances, wondering why someone else can’t seem to clean up their side of the street. Are you with me? It’s easy, right? Or maybe you have a dead possum in your own life, and it needs to be disposed of. ?In either case, there are circumstances and tasks that confront us each day; some we have control over while others are out of our control.?What's your hard thing? What’s your Mission Impossible??Maybe you need to make 10 more cold calls after a full day of cold calling or step in to help a colleague in an area where they’re struggling.? Maybe you need to empty the dishwasher or complete that “honey-do” your spouse has been wanting done.?We all, most likely, have that one thing we know needs to be done, but we just keep passing it over because it's hard, or maybe not even our job. I want to challenge you today—like my son challenged me.?Something around you need picking up, fixing, getting disposed of??Go get your shovel.