Opinions are like belly buttons: Everybody has one, or so the saying (sort of) goes.

Some people love to share their opinions with everyone they meet in hopes of feeling validated or even to spark a debate. I’m not one of those people, which might seem a little weird coming from a columnist.

Sure, I have opinions about things I truly care about, but I’m careful not to foist my opinions on people. If I’m asked, I’ll usually be happy to provide my thoughts unless I know an argument is coming. Then I’ll smile sweetly and change the subject.

Occasionally there are the times when I’m asked my opinion about something on the spot. Or I have to make a split-second decision.

This happened a few days ago. We are redoing a bathroom to make it more accessible for my husband, Tony, who has Alzheimer’s disease. My contractor was showing me a light that will go over the shower.

This light isn’t one of the basic ones I’m familiar with. This light has six settings going from warm light to fluorescent. My job was to pick one of the six settings. Oh, and once it was set, I’d have to climb on a ladder and go through gymnastics to change it.

Really? Do people really have opinions about this, I said with a sweet smile. Too bad I couldn’t change the subject or I just might have.

Apparently, they do. Uh oh. Now what do I do?

Normally when I’m required to make a decision about something I know nothing about, I do some research. What do the people who know what they’re doing select in this instance?

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time for that. So I went with the next best thing. I asked him what he would recommend. Much to my surprise, this is something he had thought about and definitely had an opinion about. Good thing one of us cared deeply about the lighting situation.

His explanation made sense to me, so I went with it. Sometimes I just need to know why I should care so that I can make an informed decision.

This incident, while making me chuckle, reminded me of what happened when Tony and I were preparing to get married.

We were both working full time in the newsroom. We also were painting a rental house that we were going to move into after the wedding. Oh, and I also was trying to plan the wedding.

Needless to say, it was a very stressful but happy time in my life.

One of my friends offered to take over the role of wedding planner. I thought that was a great idea and assumed that she would handle all the details after I picked out a color scheme and answered a few basic questions about what I liked and didn’t like.

Sadly, she wanted me to have opinions. A lot of opinions. And make a lot of decisions.

I would come home after midnight from my shift on the copy desk to a bunch of voicemail messages. They detailed each and every little thing. My favorite: What width of ribbon did I want to use on something to do with decorations on the tables?

Really? Do people really have opinions about this? Apparently, they do.

In this case, I did my best to give my friend an answer. I so appreciated that she was willing to help me. Still, I was hoping beyond hope that she was going to let me off the hook on the really minor details.

In the end, the wedding was beautiful. But I seriously don’t remember the ribbon.

When it comes to important things, I’ll definitely have an opinion. I didn’t take overly long to pick out a wedding dress. When I came upon “the one,” I just knew.

For that bathroom project, I had strong opinions about what I wanted the room to look like and how I wanted it to function.

However, I don’t have an opinion about everything.

Now had my contractor asked me about my thoughts about the Bears’ offensive line and their recent moves to protect quarterback Justin Fields, I could go on and on.

You know, something I care deeply about.

• Joan Oliver is the former Northwest Herald assistant news editor. She has been associated with the Northwest Herald since 1990. She can be reached at jolivercolumn@gmail.com.