Difference of Opinion

  i really, really like choices.  So much so, i have a hard time conceiving of the fact that other people
don't.
  One speaker described being confronted with white paint choices as a "deer in the headlights"  feeling.
  i figure white paint choices are not nearly enough.  The rainbow of choices gives me a kid-in-the-candy-store feeling.

Incident Past

  There is an incident, some 30 years ago, that i try to not remember because it's so small yet it still burns me.
  A friend and i attended a workshop about teaching kids' craft projects.  Our kits were neatly laid out, all pieces precut and ready to go, with thoughtfully prepared instructions.
  One project involved orange plastic canvas arrowheads laced together to make a coinholder keychain.  i noticed that the white yarn we were to use to lace the orange together was the same length as the blue yarn we hadn't yet used.
  i don't like orange.  i thought the finished project would look nicer with blue lacing.  So i asked if i could substitute.  The instructor said no, and when i asked why, responded, "You'll need it later,"
  Well of course.
  It wasn't a satisfactory answer, but i went ahead & used the white yarn.
  Later we used the blue yarn -  with blue plastic canvas strips and bumpy chenille - to make a model hotair balloon.
  i was - maybe not furious, but VERY upset.  i saw no good reason why i couldn't have used the yarns interchangeably.  Still don't.
  And i used leftover orange chenille bumps alternated with the prescribed blue ones, because the right purpose of orange is to accent blue.
  The leaders were astonished at my creativity.
  i don't do cookie cutter crafts.  i need to exercise choice.

Incident Present:  Enter Max

  Max does not care for choices. Especially choices presented late in the agenda.
  i need to remember that.
  We got a late start to our day, and right awayf needed to change the order of events.
  Lunch first, not glasses.  i do know that much.
  Which meant a different restaurant, because of the geography of where these things were. We changed from a sit-down to a fast food, to speed things up.  We went to favorite of his, not of mine, which made it more or less okay.
  We also have to move clothes shopping before picking up the glasses, again because of the geography

.
  i thought the problem was the lateness and his general "don't like to try on clothes" attitude.
 Boom tells me it's me.
  Here's black pants.  Do you want blue ones too?  Do you like this shirt?  You don't have to take this shirt; you can choose another one.  Print or no print?  Socks?
  Sensory overload.
  Now i've got to admit i don't like shopping in stores - my preference is paper catalogs - but it honestly hadn't occurred to me that what i was doing was making things worse for Max.  After Boom pointed it out, i could see it.
  It's amazing Max could handle getting the new glasses fitted.
  Next time, i should stay in the car until they wave at me from the window.
  But i have to come in then.  After all, i'm the one who signs the charge slips.