I have had a nice little burst of weekend company this past while which actually went better than I could have anticipated.
I truly hoped my very first guest would cancel so that my work and preparations would be rewarded with a clean home, all the "hard things" done and (another) quiet weekend at home.
Thankfully that never came to pass. My guest arrived a day later than anticipated, it was a flurry of activity, visiting and eating. It was exhausting. But that visit resulted one very good thing. It encouraged me out of the quiet and safe little cocoon I had wrapped around myself.
I just stepped away and perused my calendar to see how life transpired after that initial visit. It actually wasn't much of a "flurry" of activity. Perhaps a mild dusting would be a better way to describe it. But after the months which preceded the initiating incident, it felt like a flurry.
This one invitation to join in and live life more fully was a beginning. I am so pleased how things unfolded after that point. I didn't have to do a whole lot of inviting. I simply had to say "yes" to the offers that came my way.
Things have slowed down a little again. Without the push to do something, I tend to do nothing. Throughout the entirety of the past long weekend, I could describe all the "hard things" I did by saying I mowed the lawn, showered and colored my hair. I ate a lot. Does that count for anything? [NO!!!]
Anyway, what my point was at the beginning of this post, is that I really need to be shoved out of my complacency and prodded into action with a pokey stick.
This morning, a well overdue furnace cleaning was my initiating incident.
I was forced to tidy and sweep up the laundry room. I needed to wash my hair. The house hadn't been vacuumed in a week. And my furnace guy was scheduled to arrive at 9 a.m.
Guess what? I can do hard things before 9 o'clock in the morning. And guess what else? It feels good to do so. Will I repeat this sequence of events tomorrow? Probably not. Even though I have an early morning appointment booked with my accountant, no one is coming into my home. So all the hard things which have been done today, will most likely be enough to push me through the better part of the week.
I am presently wondering what I could arrange in the week(s) ahead to keep me moving in a productive sort of way.
House maintenance and minor renovations should be next on my to-schedule list. But I seem to have booked too many summer and fall getaways to feel like I can afford that. Maybe I'll stick to must-do items and cleaning for the moment.
One thing I have noticed as I have taken the better part of two hours or more to write these words - productivity begets more productivity. Sometimes. I believe the key lies into starting first thing in the morning.
As I sludge through the motions and keep on top of things that MUST be done around here, I marvel and wonder at the person I used to be. When my furnace inspection was done three weeks ago, I mentioned that "in the old days", knowing someone was going to be in my laundry room would have triggered a thorough cleaning. All I could think this morning as I (once again) did a bare minimum to prepare for the furnace cleaner, is that it felt much easier because I had just tidied this spot a short while ago.
Where has my ambition gone? Where can I find it? Is it hiding in the early morning hours when all I really want to do is to be still, work on my word games, write and savor my morning coffee? Perhaps that is exactly where it went.
There was a reason I used to get up so early. I do all my hard things in the morning. I just have to figure out a way to accomplish more with the time I make for myself.
It can be done. I just have to make it a priority. Therein lies the problem. I really don't care to make housework my #1 goal in life. "Good enough" has become my motto. I blame our cats. I can't keep ahead of the hair. Tell me this ... is there anyone else out there who actually vacuums their kitchen counters? I do. I have no idea why ...
This house has gone to the cats. I give up. Until I'm poked and prodded into action again.
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