Many lists, little time

I have set myself up for failure. There is a trailer-load of mulch lurking in the driveway waiting to surround my plants with sweet-smelling decaying matter. The plan is to get the flower beds cleaned out and remulched this weekend. Plus the rest of the garden needs to be planted.

Some of the seeds we started inside in flats have abandoned hope that they will ever see real sunshine. They have decided to revolt by drooping and looking pathetic. Others have crowded out their unthinned neighbors and stunted their own growth in the process.

Purchasing an entire load of mulch almost guarantees that it will rain or possibly snow all weekend. Most of the houseplants are strewn across the porch awaiting bigger pots so they can stretch their roots. The few that remain inside beg to be taken out every time I pass by them. At least one of them jumps into my arms every time I make a move for the door. Sometimes they miss and jump right out of their pots.

I have a bad habit of overestimating how much I can accomplish on any given weekend. I make to-do lists that are several pages long. I have enough projects started that if I were to retire today, (no I’m not old enough yet!) it would take me the next twenty years to get caught up.

My step-grandson, Chris, is graduating this month and I have a list of things I want to do for him also. In reality, I will be lucky if I can get a card mailed to him before he dons his cap and gown. His current plan is to become a history teacher.

I probably shouldn’t tell him that I think history is the most useless subject I was ever made to take. Lists of wars and dates are about as dry a thing as I can think of.

Museums, on the other hand, although filled with historical trivia, are fascinating. Maybe I could convince him to become a museum curator. He doesn’t need to force tons of obscure facts on captive children.

There is still time for him to change his mind. Few of us have lives that turn out the way we plan.

Who knows what the future holds for him?

That brings me back to my own plans. I also should start on the gift I am making for my niece’s upcoming wedding. I just realized that I have less than a month before she walks down the aisle with her honey by her side. So that is one more thing that I have to do. That will be the perfect project if the weather prevents me from attacking the mulch. It would be so much simpler to purchase something for them but simple isn’t in my vocabulary.

For some reason I get more done when I have a deadline even though I rarely make the deadlines I set for myself. I don’t procrastinate so much and tend to get down to business when something has to be done by a certain time.

Christmas and birthdays are deadlines that I rarely make. Come to think of it I still owe my brother a present from his birthday in April. Great, another thing for my list.

My daughter sent me some books that are calling my name. The mulch is screaming at me and all my various projects are demanding to be put at the top of my list. So if you see me spreading mulch around you will know which project won. I have to get busy now.[[In-content Ad]]