#nathan howe

Batman: Leave him alone, Nate. Though he’d be useful to your mission, he’s essential to mine.

Veteran: Too late, Batman. Tim’s already his own man. Neither you nor I will decide his career. From here on, it’s all him.

Over the years, I'd sometimes get estimates from window companies. Of course, the plan was to upgrade to energy-efficient windows for the whole house. $15,000. It was simply out of reach. In the meantime, the boarded window let in bugs but not light.

One contractor explained that the location of the window, with the frame embedded in the foundation, meant that whoever replaced it would need to chisel it out by hand, a labor-intensive and expensive process. And there were six of those windows in the house.

Honestly, the thought of that window ate at me for years. Every time I went down there, every time I went to the hardware store, it nagged at me. I knew I needed to address it, but I had built up the process (and the price) so much in my mind that I was paralyzed.

Then my wife had a job change, and we needed to move. I knew that a potential buyer couldn't get an FHA loan on the property if there was a broken window. So I pulled off the boards and cardboard to face this thing head-on. It had been at least 5 years.

I thought, "What the heck. i'm gonna have to pay for it anyway." I grabbed some WD-40, sprayed all around the rusted frame, and gave it a tug. To my astonishment, it moved for the first time in decades. I pulled the window out and took it downtown. It was a $12 fix.

I could have fixed the problem for $12 the same day it happened. But I let it haunt me for years, shutting out light and letting in bugs. And I finally fixed it for somebody else when the house was empty. It didn't need to be the most efficient. It just needed to be a window.

OK, this isn't really about my window. I mean, the story is true. But it's also a decent parable. Many of us, especially those with ADHD, anxiety, or depression, tend to live with broken windows of one type or another for years.

Everybody's broken windows are different. They are things that seriously affect our quality of life, and we know they need work, but the actions to address them seem too daunting. I've still got plenty of them myself. If you recognize yours, a few things to know:

- An imperfect solution now is better than a perfect solution that will never happen. - Doing the thing is often less painful than thinking about doing the thing. - Acknowledging how the problem is affecting you can reduce its power over you.

Ah, no, I'm sorry friend ;w;

Fenris: Dragon Age 2 — brideofsparda

Dante: Devil May Cry— teufelinderholle 

Levi: SNK— teufelinderholle 

__:The Last of Us

Jack: Mass Effect — cerberus-convict

Vergil: Devil May Cry — r-y-u-s-e-n-k-a

Garrus Vakarian: Mass Effect — destruxitsole

__:Assassin’s Creed

Ellie: The Last of Us— fugitivi