Weekend Advice
Becky Bader My to-do lists grow longer daily as the reality of my retirement kicks in: Adirondack chairs to paint in purples and blues and greens, more flowers to plant in beds of zinnias and cosmos and roses, and then there’s the inside that’s more cleaning than creative, more necessary than fun.
As I happily skip and dance and laugh my way into my retirement life, grateful to have lived long enough to have one, my lists of projects sprout as fast as the weeds in my garden. Hours that I didn’t have before are now ripe for activities long neglected.
My sister once told me that the weekends stressed her as much as the week days because she rarely made any progress on her massive checklist of projects -- paint the living room, steam clean the upstairs carpet, clean out the kitchen cabinets – multiple jobs crammed into one tiny weekend, and impossible to finish.
Her husband, however, always completed his project list without any problem.
How? By writing only one major task on his list.
If it’s mowing the lawn, he completes it and enjoys the rest of his weekend.
I haven’t forgotten my brother-in-law’s answer to a dilemma that invades many of us on the weekends, a time which is better spent refreshing, not stressing.
So as I ponder over the projects I’d like to complete today, I’m choosing only one: to weed our small vegetable garden so my husband can plant the cucumbers. That’s it. Anything else goes to the roses.
I’ll still wash the clothes and clean the dishes and take Ian his lunch and write on my blog and sweep up the dirt we track in from the garden, but the major projects won’t sweep me under the rug if I don’t finish them. Today, there’s just that one.
“Work willingly at whatever you do,
as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people”
(Colossians 3:23 NLT).
BEFORE!
AFTER!
READY TO PLANT!
Reader Comments (2)
I am a big fan of having one thing on a to-do list! Hope the weed pulling goes well this weekend! Miss you!
Will post pic! :) I miss you, too! Have fun in Dallas!