Distractions and the Donut Maker

On some weekend nights, I would buy a box of donuts to drop off at my parents' house. My parents and their friends, all of whom are already retired or about to retire, often play mahjong as an excuse to gather around the kitchen table and exchange stories collected during the past week. Sometimes they wind up not playing mahjong at all, especially when the TV is on and the Lakers are playing a good game. Or when someone brings over a box of donuts.

Last Friday night, I drove to the local donut shop, walked in the store, took out my five dollars, and waved to the donut maker through the glass that separates the room with the donut making machine from the front of the shop. The donut maker looked like he's in college, and probably the oldest son of the owner. He waved back, disappeared for a moment, probably to wipe his hands, then came into the front of the shop to help me with the donuts.

After paying him, I pointed to the back room and asked, "Are you making those donuts for tomorrow morning?" He wiped his forehead with his arm, and as he walked back to the machine room, said, "That's just how it is in the donut business." He didn't say it proudly, and he didn't say it with resentment. It simply was his job, and it had to get done.

As I drove to my parents' house, I thought about what the donut maker said, and how he said it. I wondered if he even thought about all the options he had in terms of what he could be doing at that moment, on a Friday night, instead of working a donut machine.

And then I thought about my own self, and how I sometimes look for a way out when I'm faced with doing something that I'm not going to enjoy. I thought about how many hours I've wasted putting something off instead of just doing it. How I often lose focus on what I was doing because of distractions--the telephone, e-mail, music, chitchat, that "errand" that wasn't really necessary--the list goes on.

The donut maker doesn't have those distractions. The donut maker can't afford to have those distractions. He's in a room with a big machine, and he has to make a certain number of donuts before sunrise, or else he loses business.

My parents and their friends are enjoying or about to enjoy healthy retirements. I'm sure that all of them were tempted by distractions during their school and working years. But I'm sure that they didn't let those things get in the way, or else they wouldn't be where they are now. They had to get things done, and they did them.

I wanted to write this entry. I knew that I had to finish this within a certain amount of time. And so I turned the television and my cell phone off, and typed.