The title idea seems silly, doesn't it? If you're someone, like me, that has a hard time sticking to new habits - working out, new routines, etc., why would you start a bunch at once? Kind of seems self-destructive. At the very least, a cause for scatter-brain syndrome. Well, yes, I tend to agree. But in this instance, this newfound energy, this renewed determination I have to really do it this time is really because all of these different things - the garden in the spring, the farm animals, the clean/organized/finished house, this blog for that matter - all of these different goals are really pieces of the same goal.
A joyful life.
That's it. I used to, well, still do, bemoan all the tedious steps for getting one house project done. I mean, really. When you mow the lawn, it's simple. Get out the mower, fill up gas if needed, mow the lawn. Done. Not like replacing the bathroom cabinet. Unhook the plumbing, pull out the cabinet, redo the the molding, reconnect plumbing, put in new cabinet, hook up fixture, caulk everything, put molding back up, test the fixture, take it apart, redo connection, test again, re caulk, put up crazy signs so kids don't use it till caulk is dry, touch up paint/caulk where needed, and sometime later that day take the sign down so kids can brush their teeth.
Ug. Just thinking about it scatters my brain (thanks to my hubby for replacing the bathroom cabinet on an impromptu couldn't-pass-it-up clearance purchase a couple months ago, by the way). It's the tediousness of each step that gets me.
Back to the mowing. Some people get complicated. They weed-wack, and collect all the kid toys and dog toys and branches, and then get out the push-mower for around the little trees and weird spots in the lawn, then they mow. Not me. I like simple and stream-lined. I like the smallest amount of steps possible. So, unless there is an extreme amount of toys in the yard, like a recent Nerf gun battle (Wait, scratch that. Nerf bullets will be picked up that day and not lay strewn about the yard for a week. Right?) or storm with lots of branches down (Scratch that, too, same applies), I just do it as I mow. Like moving the swinging bench or the plastic play house or the dog toys (yup, those will still be there. I have a very active dog. No way I'm picking those up every day from the yard. House, yes. Yard, no). When I come up to it, I turn off the mower and move it into a section that's already mowed. One move, easy peasy. Plus, if short on time, I can mow a complete section instead of spending all the time cleaning up the whole yard and not getting any mowing done at all.
So starting all these life-changing things at once makes sense, if you look at it right. My life is the mower. I get on and do a section of the yard at a time (BTW, I have 3 acres, hence sections of lawn and a riding mower). When I come across a mess in the house, or it's time to get a fitness activity in, I do it. I don't wait to get my house in order because I started a new workout routine and want to make sure I can stick to that first.
And you know what? I quit smoking cold turkey after a pack a day for 10 years. I can totally do this. A day at a time, a section of my day and my life at a time. This is not a New Year's Resolution thing. This is a look at where I am, and where I want to be, and deciding to make. it. happen. Because it is up to me, and I CAN and WILL totally do this.
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