Words of wisdom and insight sometimes come from unexpected sources. This fall, one of my friends and her husband stopped by our school building to drop off some plants for storage in the basement. The room that once served as the lunchroom has become the repository of numerous projects in process. I asked for advice about stripping the crown molding from my daughter’s house and refinishing an old dining room table. He admired Sam’s 1933 Chevrolet—the only thing in the vicinity that was not a work in progress. I became increasingly self-conscious of how crummy everything looked.
“Never start another project until you’re finished with the first one,” he quietly stated.
I have flitted in and out of various organizational gimmicks with varying levels of success and have always prided myself in my ability to manage simultaneously multiple tasks. But I really think he’s on to something—and may be the key to a real turnaround in my life.
This month I’m celebrating a “milestone” birthday. At least I think so. I will officially be halfway toward my anticipated life expectancy—providing I live to be 110. Not long ago, I received an email with “Preparing Your If-I-Die List” in the subject line. It came from my investment club and I totally blew it off—other than telling the kids that my mad money cash stash is in the tampon box in the bathroom closet. Or at least it was until I decided to tell you all. I always thought it was an unlikely spot for burglars to explore.
Sam and I also watched the movie The Bucket List recently, a story of two men, played by Jack Nicholson and Samuel L. Jackson, who are roommates in a hospital owned by Nicholson’s character. They embark on a series of adventures to fulfill Jackson’s list of things to accomplish before he kicks the bucket.
I liked the movie and have decided that maybe it’s time for me to make my own bucket list. Number one on the list is to learn to finish one project before starting another. I suppose that makes this more of an “Empty the Bucket First” list.
2. Learn photography like my favorite blogger, Pioneerwoman.
The professional caliber photography on her site is amazing. Early one morning, she actually wrapped herself in a curtain sheer to run out in her front yard and photograph the sunrise. How adventurous and quirky! Until a semi-tractor wound its way up their long driveway followed by a pickup truck driven by one of their young farm hands.
But wait, before I can follow that dream, I need to sort through thirty-five years of family photographs in shoeboxes and envelopes hidden away in my bedroom closet. This fall, I had to go through them looking for some pictures for a family party. I spent several hours opening packet after packet of prints and alternated between pure enjoyment of the images and disgust with myself for not organizing them over the years. The dozens of memory cards filled with digital photos stashed in a drawer take up much less space physically but are equally guilt-inducing.
Obviously the solution is to just stop reading blogs.
3. Become a nicer person.
I admire sweet, soft-spoken women. I am not one of them. But I can be. I think. If I have to be.
4. Sail around the world.
Well, maybe not around the world. And probably not in a sailboat. Maybe a two-hour airboat ride through the Florida Everglades would sufficiently satisfy my quest for adventure on the high seas. But barring an intervention from some form of Extreme Makeover: Wood Boat Edition, I won’t be making any reservations in the foreseeable future. We have three ongoing boat restorations, one of which requires stripping and refinishing all of the wood on a little runabout, one has been dismantled into hundreds, perhaps thousands, of pieces, and finally, the cruiser Sam has taken apart and put back together at least six times.
