It's on the List!

The end of summer is quickly approaching and I must admit, so far it has been a great one. The weather has been close to perfect. My summer job this year was teaching summer school, which was during the month of July, so I had the whole month of June to get a lot of stuff done. When I have things that need to get done, I make a list. Then I’m sure I’ll get everything done. That list I’m talking about is just a list that sort of floats around in my head during the school year. It’s the “I’ll do it during the summer” list. Here are some of the jobs on that list.

            -Clean out and organize the attic

            -Go through clothes and make a Good Will run

            -Plant flowers in the front flower boxes

            -Sew stuff/do the mending

            -Paint Sammy’s room

-Wash windows (who am I kidding? This one should read, “Hire someone to wash windows)

It’s that list of jobs that I’m now saving for a rainy day, but unfortunately (or fortunately), this summer, the rainy days have been few and far between. Why would I climb around in my hot, stuffy attic when it’s beautiful outside?

I’d like to say that I’ve tackled that long list of “to-do’s” that I had planned for myself, but I’m slightly ashamed to admit, I haven’t been nearly as productive as I should have been. I can’t even blame Tom for this. None of the jobs on this list (except maybe the painting), are what I can even say that I couldn’t accomplish without his help. I could say there’s no excuse, but honestly, I’m not lacking for excuses. Some excuses come with time. “Its already 2:30, Tom will be home soon, (5:00), so I better not start a big job now.” So my flower boxes remain empty and my attic stays unorganized. It is so late in the summer now that the only thing that is going in those flower boxes are dead leaves. Although I have been going through stuff in my closet. I currently have a pile of clothes that no longer fit and as I step over it each morning I think to myself “I really need to take that stuff to Good Will.” And then I remind myself that it would make more sense to wait until I have gone through the other stuff (like the attic). Now that it’s August and I have to get ready for school to start, I’m sorry to report that these things aren’t going to get done this summer.  While I’d like to say I was highly motivated, I wasn’t. But what I can say is that I’ve had a great summer. The weather was beautiful and I have no complaints. As for my undone tasks? It’s ok. It’ll get done eventually. It’s on the list.

Update: After the realization that I had previously written about this topic (see “breakcrastination” column). I am happy to report that I’ve knocked out some of the items on the above list! If you’re wondering about the attic and the flower boxes…maybe next summer.

The Fastest Way to a Mom's Heart

My husband and I have been spending the past 9 months or so adjusting to what is commonly referred to “empty nest syndrome.’ Our two sons moved out within 2 months of each other and we were devastated. It has been an interesting transition to say the least.  Now that we have nearly a year under our belts, we have found that we love being empty nesters. But still, we miss our boys. Even though our son Robby lives close by, we rarely see him. I can usually bribe him to come over and visit with groceries and the promise of a hot dinner. But he lives a pretty busy life, so those visits are few and far between. But if all it takes is a bag ½ full of groceries to get a quick visit, I’m all in. In fact, I’ve found that the secret to getting my grown boys to visit or even hug me, it’s groceries. It’s true. The fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. And to be honest, handing my son a bag of groceries makes me happy.

Recently, I had to return my son, Sam, to college after a few days home with us. Because the drive is so long, I opted to spend the night in his apartment before embarking on the 4 hour trip home. After we walked downtown to get some pizza, we settled in for the night. The next morning, as I waited to take him to class on my way out of town, I got to do some things for my son in his place, that I would have to evoke a screaming fit to get him to do in mine.

            I washed his dishes

            I cleaned out his fridge

            I emptied the garbage

When it was suddenly time to go, I wished out loud that we would have gone to the store to get him some groceries the night before. But it was too late. He was going to be late for class and I needed to get on the road. But the vision of that empty fridge haunted me. I felt terrible. Then a miracle happened. Less than 2 minutes after I dropped him off, Sam called to say that the class wasn’t meeting today. “I guess we can go get me some groceries,” he said cheerfully. Happiness washed over me. I didn’t have to leave my son with an empty fridge after all. Maybe the fastest way to a man’s heart is through is stomach, but the fastest way to this mom’s heart is through a grocery store.