Things I'd Do If I Had An Endless Bucket of Time: Part 1

I have a good friend who works in the trades which means she works when there is work and she sits it out when there isn't work. I think it would be hard to adjust to that life, for me, after working a steady 8 to 5, for 35+ years. Ever since I can remember, I've gotten up on Monday mornings with a sense of "oh crap, I wish I had had time to (fill in the blank)". She suffers from it too and then when she does have the long periods of time off, she is paralyzed with making decisions about what to do. I get her. I was thinking about it last night and this morning and decided to write a list of things I think about doing on Monday mornings when instead I'm getting ready for work. This list is a work in progress and I'll be adding to it as I think about it this week.

 

• Clean the inside of my car (and his car)
• More food prep ... fill the freezer with individual lunches
• Pull weeds
• Wash windows
• Stop and pick up trash on my street
• Brush my dogs more often
• Make birthday cards for friends
• Write a letter
• Reorganize a cupboard
• Visit a coffee shop I've never been to
• Walk through the art gallery I've never visited in town where I have lived for 10 years
• Go to Fred Meyer's and walk every isle and take the time to see what's there
• Read a book from cover to cover in one sitting
• Make a decent breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the hubs
• Write
• Invite a friend over for lunch
• Go to the library
• Walk around my neighborhood

What would you do if every day was Saturday? Maybe it already is for you ... how do you keep yourself busy? Is there a trick to it? Do you get up and shower right away and get ready for the day or do you ease into it? Do you keep a schedule or is everything random?  I'd love to hear from you!  love, susan

Closer to July than June: A Life List

Weather numbers this week are 79, 89, 93, 93, 92, and 91. Definitely something to look forward to. My favorite moments last week included seeing these two guys bending over a tractor. The only thing missing was a piece of grass for them to chew on. I love men. I love crusty old men with weathered faces and craggy voices and stained jeans. These two. Nice guys. My other favorite moment was brushing my friends' dog and leaving piles of undercoat on their lawn. There is something deeply satisfying about de-shedding dogs that cannot be explained. My dogs hate having it done to them. What's right in the world is that we spent a whole weekend without TV. You should try it sometime. What I'm resisting is being a total nag to my hubby. I have a big list of to-do's for him and he has his own resistance. This is and always has been a delicate matter in our marriage. What I'm thinking is that my friends' place out in Onalaska is the perfect refuge and I think it would be a great place to go by myself sometime for a retreat. I sat on their porch and stared out onto the lovely acreage, listening to the wind gently blow through the trees and thought 'what a lovely place to go and just write'. What the future holds is two rescue dog shoots this week, picnic lunch with a friend, dentist appointments, and a concert in the park on Thursday. If this is my last day on earth, I don't want to be remembered as a nag. So I'll use all my other skills I have tucked under my belt to light a fire under the hubby to do at least one thing on my honey-do list. I'll let you know how that turns out. (grins and sighs)   love, susan

 

Note: Ever since I turned 40, I've had this skewed way of looking at things. Up until I was one day past my 45th birthday, my thought was I was closer to 40 than 50. That's how it is when you don't have as much time to waste. Hence, the title of this post.

Another June Life List

Weather this week is looking better with the numbers at 76, 84, 84, 79, and 81! My Favorite Moments from Last Week Definitely would have to include the laughter at yesterday's birthday party in Portland. We drove over in the morning to celebrate our grandson's 15th birthday. It was a one day turnaround trip but so worth being a little tired this morning. When we all get together, there is guaranteed laughter. We needed it. Another memorable moment was when a work friend found out she got a promotion. What's Right in the World Well, let me tell you. Visiting with our grandkids yesterday was a confirmation that there are still good people in the world. Our oldest grandson is working a steady job. He is struggling a bit to find an apartment he and a roommate can afford together. This has caused him to seek out a better job. Isn't that how it's supposed to be? The other two kids are thriving in school and they wonderful human beings. It did my heart good to see them yesterday. What I'm Resisting I ate terrible yesterday. Really went of the tracks. But I'm resisting a defeatist attitude and I'm right back on track this morning. What I'm Thinking I don't really want to go to work this morning but I'm working on my attitude. Sometimes just saying that out loud is all I need to change the direction of my thinking. I had such a great weekend and I've got some fun things lined up this week for after work so I say ... let the week begin. What's On My Camera I didn't even drag my big camera to Portland yesterday. My cell does a fine job these days. Got lots of family photos yesterday. What My Future Holds This week I'm meeting with a new mother and her two week old baby to take some photos. I'm not great with baby pictures but I'm willing to try. I'm doing a little research on the internet for posing ideas. If This is My Last Day, Here is My Final Thought I would die a happy woman today. Seeing those kids yesterday was the highlight of 2018, so far.

Grandpa Gene, Blake, Grandpa Frank

June 2018: A Life List

Weather The numbers this week are 77, 80, 84, 89 and 87. I love it! Bring on the sunshine.

 

My Favorite Moment(s) from Last Week  I attended a birthday bbq for a one year old as a photographer but these people have become friends. I had taken photos of the grandparents with their great Dane a year ago. They invited me inside their home to see how they had enlarged the photos and had them framed. I felt such a sense of honor. Their Dane died a month ago and in a moment I felt the value in taking photos for others. This is exactly why I do it. I want people to have those memories forever. The other favorite moment was watching the 1 year sitting on the cute little 4 wheeler her uncle gave her for her birthday. The smile on her face said it all.

 

What's Right in the World I've run out of time to do much planting but some volunteer sunflowers are coming up and I'm thrilled to pieces. One is in a spot I wouldn't have thought to plant it but I'm all about random and I'm leaving it there. It's already 3 feet tall.

 

What I'm Resisting I've got a bad case of race brain.

 

What I'm Thinking Warning. A rant is about to ensue. We were talking with our neighbor kid across the street last night. He is graduating from high school this Friday. He is a miracle. His mom died about 5 years ago and we worried that he would not have enough support to make it. Quite the opposite happened. Even though he was held back a grade, this kid has excelled! Last year, he got a job at the local dry cleaner, working nights. He works 40 hours and managed to get A's and B's this year. Here's the rant. He broke his thumb sometime over the winter. It cost him $5,000 out of pocket for the surgery to repair it even though he has medical insurance through his work. I asked him why he wasn't on state insurance any longer and he said "because I work!"  Welcome to adulthood and shitty medical insurance. But this does have a happy ending ... that kid is nearly done paying off his medical bill. I'd say he's going to do just fine in life. His mom would be so proud of him.

 

What My Future Holds Tonight I'm going out to the country to get some rescue dog photos. Wednesday will be a walk with a friend. Friday night I'm helping a friend cut up veggies and prep for the graduation party we're attending on Saturday. Sunday we'll be taking a road trip to Portland to celebrate our grandson's birthday.

 

If This is My Last Day on Earth Gene, you need to clean up that anti-freeze under the truck. (this would be my last nag)

 

Hope you are having a fabulous day wherever you are. love, susan

Sunday Regrets

Sunday afternoon. It's been a great weekend. I packed a lot of events into it.  Today I had a nice conversation with my step daughter on the phone. We both suffer this awful dilemma of wanting to stay home to get some chores done to a nagging thought that summer is short and we should be out enjoying it ... chores can wait ... no, they can't ... yes, they can.

 

This weekend I wrote a short list of what I wanted to accomplish and what events I would be attending. For the most part, it went down how I thought it would. Still. I'm out of weekend and feeling like I could use just one more day off.

 

It's always been this way with me. In my adult life, I have had two summers off where I wasn't working at all. I was able to enjoy the time off but as soon as the end of summer was nearing, all I could think about was getting back to work. Kind of like a horse headed to the barn. That's how it is with me.

 

At the very least, I have food prepped for my lunches this week and clean clothes in the dryer. The bed hasn't been made yet. And, I didn't walk the dogs this morning. Oh, well.

 

So many things to do, so little time.

 

How do you deal with Sunday regrets?

 

love, susan