There is a simple phrase I tell myself that should start danger lights flashing. Those five words are: “how hard can this be?”

I can’t list the number of times I’ve overestimated how easy a project can be to complete and how I’ve underestimated my ability to finish the project.

I bought windshield wiper replacements, thinking all I had to do was slide those on.

Wrong.

Bought a stand for my bike to convert it to a stationary one, thinking that would be a piece of cake.

Wrong.

My latest project is assembling a simple, one-drawer nightstand for our guest bedroom.

Our eldest granddaughter stays there when she comes over. Her family moved into their new house, and Kylie needed a nightstand. She liked the one in the guest room, so we gave it to her.

No problem replacing it, I thought. I found some at a local furniture store, and they ran about $150 each. But when shopping in Target, I found a simple white one for $70.

Although the directions on the outside of the box stated, “assembly required,” I thought “how hard can this be?”

My husband is usually the one who puts things together, but he was camping with the Scouts. I had free time and a screwdriver, so I sat down when I got home and opened the box.

My usual way to put things together is to dump everything out in the middle of the floor and sift around until I find the right piece. I look at the pictures and figure it out, using the directions as a last resort.

But this time, following how my husband puts things together, I organized the bags of screws and bolts and checked to be sure I had all the wooden parts listed in the directions.

They were all there and labeled A-K.

I patted myself on the back, thinking I’d not only have a nice little dresser for that room, but my husband wouldn’t have to put it together. I could take pride in having assembled a nightstand.

Because, how hard could this be.

Turned out, I got stuck on the first page.

The directions said to stick round screws into the holes on the wooden panel. I looked at the pieces again. All of them were labeled A-K. None had a label of “wooden panel.”

I looked at the picture and compared it to all the pieces. None of them seemed to have holes in the same place as in the directions. I knew from experience once I stuck those round screws into the wood they weren’t coming out.

For 30 minutes, I tried matching up the directions to the pieces in front of me. Frustrated, I stacked everything up, put the screwdriver on top of the neat pile and went about my day.

When my husband came back, he looked questioningly at the pile and then at me.

“It’s a nightstand for upstairs,” I said.

He nodded.

“And it’s out of the box because…”

I smiled.

“Because I thought I could put it together, but it’s way over my head,” I explained.

He sighed.

“I’ll put it on the list,” he said.

Once again, my belief in my abilities was bigger than my real abilities. It would’ve been easier to get the nightstand that was already put together. But I told myself I had what I needed for half the price, and that statement won out in the end.

The next time I see something in the store that requires assembly and think “how hard can this be,” I need to remember the answer – “harder than you think.”

 

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.