Bonthorn: Living My Version of Life: How We Make A Decision

Saturday, July 06, 2019

How We Make A Decision

We woke up adamant that we were going to win at something today.

Matt cut his front curls without injuring himself. I did yoga on the dock without pulling a muscle. Schoolwork was completed without too much fuss. We got our soda stream out and made some cold fizzy water. So far so good.

We decided that we were going to buy a new outboard motor. One that was new, reputable and most importantly, reliable.

The rest of the morning was spent researching and calling around multiple shops and dealerships to see if they stocked outboard engines.

It was Saturday and most places closed in the early afternoon. For me, it didn't really matter if we had an outboard by the end of the day or sometime next week.

There was no rush. Better get the right one than rush into a decision too quickly.

To me, this was a contained problem. Nothing was wrong with our big boat. Sure there were still things we needed to do, but nothing was critical.

Matt and I tackle decision-making differently. Although we always ultimately agree on the big decisions we make, we get there in very different ways.

When he is adamant about solving a problem, he'll do the necessary research and then make a decision fairly quickly.

As for me, after researching I'll still take some time to mull it over and see what each pro and con is. I hate to be pressured into making a decision quickly. It may take more time, but when I do make the decision, I don't look back.

If you've ever eaten out at a restaurant with us, you'll surely have noticed our different styles of how we pick our food off the menu.

Matt will take a minute to glance at the menu, make a decision and then close the menu.

Me, I'll read the food options several times and do a quick poll around the table to see what everyone else is having before finally deciding on something myself. But then i may very well change my mind last minute when the waiter comes to take our order.

I'm explaining this in order to contextualize how we came to decide on our new outboard engine, the Suzuki 9.9 HP EFI 4-stroke, which we ended up buying today.

After we had gathered all the necessary information, Matt was pretty set on this one. And there was one available just beyond Halifax. That was it for him, his decision was made.

As for me, I still wanted to go through some scenarios and possibilities and just really work out what was best for us.

In the end, consensus was made, although to be honest I was still teetering on the fence a bit.

Sometimes I need to be nudged to make a decision. Other times, I'll remind Matt to pause for a bit and just step back.

There were several reasons we decided on this outboard.

We didn't want to go higher than a 9.9 hp because hoisting it up into our pulley and davits would be impossible due to the increased weight of a 15 or 20 hp engine.

With this Suzuki there is the option to increase the hp if we wanted to. Same weight, more power. So that was a bonus.

EFI (electronic fuel injection) is something we think will be beneficial too. No carburetor to deal with. Less fuel consumption. More environmentally friendly.

So the decision was made.

Darlene and John were over again to offer their help. They are incredibly generous and kind people! Honestly, we have been so blessed with kindness.

While Matt and John went to get the motor, the kids and I packed up our wagon and walked to the local Mahone Bay outdoor swimming pool. It was free public swim this afternoon!

There were kids there and after me doing a soft introduction to another boy and his sister, Tai and Aila happily played with them for a couple of hours. I was thrilled they had some time to play with other kids! It's been a long while.

After swimming, we got some ice cream and groceries. When we got back to the boat, our new shiny outboard was already on the dinghy. She started on the first pull and purred.