Transitions

Finally, my brain is beginning to wrap itself around the little things that have been piling up for the past several months, and the piles are starting to diminish—slowly, but surely.

Yesterday, I caught up on my financial recordkeeping: because I dislike doing it, I don’t. When I do finally tackle it, I’m often pleasantly surprised to see that my checkbook balances and I have money in savings. However, sometimes little things escape through my lassitude, and then I have to chase them down to find out where the mistake is lurking.

I cleaned off my desk and the little side table that holds books while I’m working. I probably should fold it up and put it away so it won’t pile up with papers, too.

I attached wire at the front of the house and twined the honeysuckle around it, away from the wooden structure, so the front light highlights it and looks nice. I love the smell of honeysuckle! The lawn has had its weekly mowing, and I’m going to water in the weed & feed this evening so it sits overnight and soaks into the soil. I need to buy a new weed whacker as I cannot find the replacement spool and have to keep winding the nylon filament by hand, which does not work. The cord becomes stuck as I use the trimmer, so it stops working quite often during the trimming function.

All of my papers are graded and recorded, and the records are updated and current. Yeah. I’m winding down the number of papers I’m assigning, grading, and recording, so it’s taking less time. I have also begun the process of cleaning out the classroom for the end of the year, this time giving away those things that I don’t want to bring back home. It looks bare, but there is a lot to accomplish and not many days in which to do what needs to be done. The castle won’t come down until the end, which gives some personality to the room. And I’ll keep both the ‘fridge and the microwave in my room until the last day: when it’s in triple digits, I need H2O.

The shelves are going to come off the walls of the home office, and I’m replacing them with cupboards and shelves, hoping to have a place for everything and everything in its place, which will free up floor space for my crafts. Many colleagues have contacted me and want my resource books. I’ve been collecting relevant material for the past couple dozen years, but I haven’t decided about those. If I do pass them on, it will cut down the number of shelves and cupboards I need by half!

The to-do list remains bulky: install a storm door, outdoor lights, and a new slider; refinish the kitchen cabinets (no way will I spend thousands to replace them!); do something about the living room carpet, perhaps replace it with tile; get new living room blinds, and fix the light above the washer in the garage.

And, of course, there is still the MAJOR ITEM on the list: empty the boxes from the 1999 move and decide what to keep and what not to keep. I cannot believe that I’ve let that job sit there for so long, but somewhere in my mind, I refused to believe I would stay here after all.

There is a place for me, but I’m not sure where it is, and there is something I still have to do, but I don’t know what it is. Until I have those answers, it’s easier to leave the boxes where they are.