My Quiet Sunday (cont'd)

Had to stop. As is with the revolving door on my semi-empty nest. In spite of this quiet day and my small interruptions, ideas for the holiday plans swirl in my head. At some point I will get out my 3 x 5 cards and write down my ideas; plans, menu, decor, shopping lists, chores, fix-ups, etc., and then start the shuffling game; putting the cards in order by priority, making additions and deleting, crossing things off when finished (a good feeling!!). I once played a little reality game with myself when I felt overwhelmed with things to get done in the house before I could leave to run errands. As some may learn over the course of time, I can be quite stringent about certain things and totally relaxed about others. One thing, I can't leave a messy home behind me. I don't want to come home to it. I don't need to face anything energy draining or routine after I have been out and about and having fun. So... I timed myself: 7 minutes organizing the kitchen. Loading dishwasher, sanitizing counters and emptying garbage. Oh, and feeding dogs. Next, making living room orderly, putting away diregarded clothing, shoes and items, dusting up ashes from fireplace, general fluffing. 5 minutes. Bathrooms-easy. Good old bottle of disenfectant and paper towels stored under sink. Squirt, clean, rinse, clean towels, voila! 3 minutes. Master bedroom. This is hard and will be expounded on in future blogs. The hubub of the family. Think big old four poster bed, stacks of books and magazines, television and clickers, soft, comfy quilts and pillows, two sleepy, snuggling critters. Oh, bliss. Some say I live in my P.J's. Why not in a retreat like this? Anyhow, takes a while to make up the bed with all the linens and pillows. And this is a big priority for me as instilled by my mother. We were absolutely required to clean our rooms after breakfast. A made bed was a happy Mum and so now for me. Anyway, a good 10 minutes for this. Now I stop. Forget the rest. These rooms are the most lived in rooms and must be ready for my return and will undoubtedly get unruly again. However, my point is, once broken up by time, you will find that chores looming in front of you rarely take the enormous amounts of time you imagine. And when you see it is all routine and you can bounce from one thing to the next without diversion, you can then move on about your day without a hitch. Try this in all you do. Break down the time it takes to do the umseemly chores in increments instead of lamenting of all of it over your 5th cup of coffee. Tried and true. Ask Blondie. A quote:

"Devote each day to the object then in time and every evening will find something done."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Love this because there is a gorgeous street in Chicago named Goethe. Ha Ha.