One At A Time

I’d like to let go of “efficiency” and big accomplishments this year. Of multi-tasking so much. How about doing one thing well with intention? Instead of tripping along the surface of five good ideas getting them half done; why not be content with one completed task. One clean cabinet is better than a kitchen of partially organized spaces.

I think this is such a good idea, until I consider how much I have taken up as a home keeper of spaces to clean, decorate, organize, and keep. Plus, of course I want to make changes to some of them. Maintenance itself is important and takes time.

“You have too much inventory, Mom.” Amy says. Yes, she is right. If I really just look at our rooms, I can easily see that there is a lot of texture. Books, lamps, projects, family photos, wall art, plants and furniture. But it all makes home.

Our lives are full of people and meals and children and church and work and play. It comes with tasks and stuff and joys and stories, pain and pleasure. How can one line them up in a tidy row for doing one at a time!

I think that it’s about being thoughtful and careful to savor what’s in our hands this minute. From placing sparking stemware to painting sealer around the edges of 15 windows in a new French door. From a heavy bucket of ashes just cleaned out of the fireplace to stretching clean sheets onto a guest bed.

Let me live with gratitude and the refusal to hurry through my privileged life. I want there to be time to notice snowflakes, close up.