One step at a time

One step at a time - is there really any other way? And multi-tasking? Really? I don't think anyone can really multitask as we only have one brain - true, there might be other parts not necessarily under our conscious control - but what goes on under the surface is none of our business - until it surfaces of course. So, we, with our uni-brain, can really only do one thing at a time with focus. Driving and putting on make-up? I rarely do it, but it doesn't seem like a good idea. Driving and doing much of anything else - is that really multi-tasking?

Anyway, as I was saying, one step at a time. Most things can only be accomplished through methodical steps forward. Again there are those times when an answer springs into your head - or a task seems to take a lot fewer steps than anticipated, but still, those are just single steps. One of the things I like to say when people find that they don't know where to go or what to do or how to achieve a goal is: baby steps. When in doubt, take little, wobbly steps (sometimes with support if you can find it) in any direction - hopefully in the one you are wanting to go - but really, all motion is forward motion (in a way). At least it is motion.

This all occurred to me as I was working on getting the room at the head of the stairs ready for potential occupancy. We might have a boarder! Mom vacillates between being excited about the prospect and being horrified by the prospect. If it causes her too much stress, we will reevaluate. But for now, it looks like, starting this weekend, we will have a housemate. (I stared this a while ago - she is now safely ensconced in the room - how long she will stay is anyone's guess...she is welcome as long as she wants to stay, but life has a way of moving us around sometimes in ways that we had not anticipated.)

In order to get the room ready, I had to attack the problem one step at a time. First, I emptied out the dresser drawers. Karl, if you are reading this - hahahahahaha (on a couple of levels) - do you want your Heathkit calculator? The dresser mostly had a bunch of random stuff in it - I think one of the drawers was a sort of gift drawer that mom had created. Two and one eighth drawers had stuff in them. I boxed it all. Yay!

Next, I took a few boxes After that, I took some boxes that I had sitting around waiting for Godot on the front porch up into the room to be filled with extra books into the attack - only to make it clear to me just how many books and boxes had migrated into the "orange" room. (The rug is orange.)(This is my childhood room. So I always feel a little nostalgic in there.) The next day, I took more boxes out. Then I piled the remaining boxes near the door for their eventual trip heavenwards. So, all I had left to do was move those boxes and do some neatening and the room would be as ready as it was going to be. Maybe a quick vacuum. We shall see. Mom promised to dust the big table in there - she did actually help (in her way) clean off that table. That was probably the biggest job and I had forgotten that we had done it. (The table did get dusted - I don't know if mom did the actual work, or just supervised Jenny (the aide) doing it.)

I thought I had oodles of time. Turns out, I was wrong. I got a call from my boarder asking if she could move in much sooner than expected! Suddenly, my baby steps needed to be accomplished in rapid succession. Pack boxes, lug boxes, lug boxes, lug boxes. I think, in all, 20 boxes worth of crap made it up into the attic and out of that room. And I mean crap in the most loving, respectful way.

Things that didn't get done - I didn't vacuum the room. Or clean the bathroom we are sharing (except in a very cursorily (cursory sort of way)). But, it gone mostly done. Through baby steps. Yay!