Photo copyright Jan Sandahl

Digger, a friend and loyal follower of this blog, recently submitted a question for Deep Thought Thursday:

You have one too many.  What do you do?

I’ve tried repeatedly to ponder my answer to this question, but every time I look at it, Kenny Chesney starts singing in my brain, “One is one too many, one more is never enough.” It’s been difficult to get past the earworm to my real thoughts on the subject.

First of all, I’m not sure I can think of a situation where I would consider having one too many as a problem. For every scenario I’ve been able to come up with, I’d consider myself blessed to have an extra of anything.

That being said, an extra isn’t necessarily always convenient. Especially when one has some OCD tendencies that she tries to keep hidden. I like it when things are as they are supposed to be, and I don’t have to work too hard.

So basically what it all boils down to is, I don’t have a one-size-fits-all answer to this question. It would depend entirely on one too many what?

For example, if I had one too many Oreos (say I was trying to divide the rest of the package equally among x Oreo lovers) I would surreptitiously eat the extra one to eliminate the inequality. Then I would have to be careful not to breathe near the hubby if he were one of the x Oreo lovers. He is a human cookie breathalyzer. From a hundred paces. And more than happy to call me out for sneaking one.

In a completely unrelated vein, I have been collecting antique door knobs for years with the intention of attaching them to a board to make a coat rack. I have no idea how many knobs I have now, since some are in storage. I need an odd number for the project, and there’s a really good chance I’ve got one too many (for all I know, I have five too many by now). If that’s the case, I’d list the extra(s) for sale on ebay, in hopes that someone else out there is looking for single, mismatched door knobs for a special project.

If I had one too many people coming to dinner, I’d have to consider in what way s/he was too many. Do I have one too few chairs? If so, I’d drag out my paint-spattered folding step-stool, and I’d wedge my butt between its handles while I enjoyed the extra person’s company during the meal. Does my lasagna recipe feed eight, but this person makes a party of nine? In that case, I’d make a double recipe, and have hearty leftover lunches for the coming week.

I am nothing if not resourceful. One too many of anything isn’t going to throw me off for very long. Give me a minute to think, and I’ll make it seem like whatever number I’ve got is exactly the number I meant to have.