I have a love-hate relationship with living in Western Washington. Six months of the year we’re wet and gray and I am a poster child for S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder,) unless I’m glued to my computer, and then I forget about everything. I emerge from my cave about this time each year, squinting at the sunlight. Someone with my disposition should live closer to the equator. At the same time, there’s nothing like home. The other six months of the year I am ecstatic about our green greens and our culture. I love Puget Sound.
Eastern Washington is second cousin to the midwest – hot, dry Summers and frozen cold Winters. On the western side, especially near Puget Sound, we have (chilly) rain forests and more mold than you can shake an asthma inhaler at, mitigated somewhat by not freezing as deeply or as long as areas without our sheltered pocket of inland salt water. Also, we have some of the most beautiful Springtimes that can be found anywhere.
Yesterday we had our second day in a row of truly Spring-like weather. Today, after three, all is forgiven, even though the rains are due to return on Friday. Tuesday I saw my first hummingbird of the year – amazing. Last week it was freezing at night. Tomorrow we may be back to gray and dismal for another few weeks. This changeability reminds me of three things:
- tempus fugit (time flies)
- carpe diem (seize the day)
- making hay while the sun shines
Sorting the “Somedays”
Do you have 110 projects, lurking in the shadows of your imagination, camping out on 101 back burners? How many “someday” domains lurk in your account? How many “remember to” things are years out outdated, no longer even applicable to today’s real life?
When thinking of writing this post a thought wafted to the surface that one day I’d have to get the chocolate fudge cookie recipe. Chocolate fudge cookie recipe? That to-do was 25 years old, from when I was the baker for a cafe that has been out of business at least 20 years. Crazy. On the other hand, I do have a couple of wanna-do domains registered and waiting for food-related web sites. A cooking site would be a wonderful project to get going during the next wet, gray Fall. For Spring and Summer, there’s a local goings-on site I’d love to get off the back burner: tempus fugit and carpe diem, because that mellow weather won’t last forever.
When is the last time you took a hard look at what’s silly not to be doing? It’s nonsensical what gets back-burnered. Health. Family time. The “somedays” that are good for you, for which there really is time after all. Projects that are back lit by honest-to-goodness, heartfelt this-is-me.
Sometimes, I think we put off the good stuff because there doesn’t seem to be enough time to follow through in a thorough and complete way. We may be happy to chip away at a problem, while leaving the good stuff for some time when there are more days in a week. Why? Why not chip away at the happy task?
Life is short and time flies. Decide if a “problem” project really needs to be solved, then fix it or forget it. Pick a few wanna-do projects and get them started. Seize the day. Let the rest fade away, or get drastic and chuck ’em: there will be more where those came from.