Unit of Measurement

I have never excelled at math. I’d like to blame — in no particular order — my parents, my seventh-grade math teacher, and math itself for being hard.

With that important context, my wife and I prepared to welcome 150 guests to our home to celebrate our eldest’s high school graduation. Among the lengthy honey-do item list given to me was to make sure our backyard playground set was replenished with wood chips and mulch. I measured…twice. When I called the mulch provider to get some guidance, they told me to review their website. It was unhelpful. I consulted multiple websites and tested multiple calculators until I arrived at what I thought was a consistent estimate. When I went back to place the order, they only took orders in “units” and I had a variety of cubic yards and feet in my notes. I decided they must be the same.

They were not. I wasn’t home when the mulch was delivered. The man called to ask where he should drop off the order, and I told him to dump it behind my car. When he replied, “Do you have a monster truck?” I should’ve known this would have a poor ending. As it turns out, I ordered eight times the amount of mulch I needed.

Mulch that needed to be distributed or removed in less than 48 hours.

Mulch that couldn’t be returned.

I’ll spare you the extensive marital discord and self loathing that occurred. Somewhere around 11:00 p.m. and my third cry later, I couldn’t help but think about how off my estimate was and how in so many other aspects of life and leadership, I give ballpark estimates to things that leave others shoveling mountains I considered molehills. Whether it’s launching a new initiative, expecting something of my children, or even what I expect of my parish, how well does my unit of measurement convert to those I lead and love? While I might be eager and enthusiastic about something, do its weights and measurement lift others up or bury them in unrealistic expectations? In my prayer, how do I seek to align the way the Lord weighs things versus how I weigh them?

Thankfully, with some good kids, good friends, and the best wife, the party came together, mulch and all. As we begin Ordinary Time, let’s not take for granted any of our work — especially the work we might dump on others — and seek to lift it together with the One who lifts us all.