The Better Part of Valor

You know how they say, "Discretion is the better part of valor?"  Well, it's actually a misquote.

Falstaff:
To die is to be a counterfeit, for he is but the counterfeit of
a man who hath not the life of a man; but to counterfeit dying,
when a man thereby liveth, is to be no counterfeit, but the true
and perfect image of life indeed. The better part of valor is
discretion, in the which better part I have sav'd my life.

Henry The Fourth, Part 1 Act 5, scene 4, 115–121

So basically, Falstaff is saying, "Hey guys, I totes pretended to be dead, now I'm not really dead because the dude who wanted to fight me thought I was dead and didn't kill me!  It's cool, right?  That's good life choices, not cowardice, bitches."

And that, my friends, is what I am doing.  I've been working late nights and long hours on a dress for this weekend, and I've reached the decision that it's just not going to be done.  It's been a long time since I called a retreat on a project like this, but this morning at two a.m. I put the sleeves on and realized that I hated them. I had to make a choice.  I could get the dress into wearable condition and debut it this weekend "as is," if I worked on it tonight (in addition to picking up groceries, cleaning out my car, and packing.)  If I did that, I'd be using the sleeves that I hated, there wouldn't be any trim, and it'd be pinned shut in the back.

Or, I could cut myself a little slack, re-pattern the sleeves, do a few mockups, and get a design that I really like.  I could take time to trim the dress as I intended, an then wear it in July or August at Chilicothe or Greenfield 1812.  I know I'll be a lot  happier with the dress overall if I do that.

Plus, I'd really like to actually sleep at some point tonight.