I am the queen of unfinished projects. Lately, as I survey my house and work hard to try to get things in order and just the way I want them, I am reminded of this many times a day. Fall is coming, and with that, my desire to sit idly and knit things has returned. I have a scarf pattern I’ve been wanting to make for years now, and this morning I went through my knitting bag to see if I already have the size of needles I’ll need. I didn’t have them....but I did find three unfinished scarves (one of which I started 4 years ago in MOPS, and really just needs binded off, another I started for Megan two years ago...poor Megan), an almost done dishcloth, a baby blanket I started for my friend Leigh’s baby (who will be turning 5 in December; it’s beautiful, but only about 1/3 done), and a purse I started when I first learned to knit.
Sadly, it’s not just knitting that I seem unable to complete....it’s the snowman Christmas ornaments we started making last December for gifts from the girls. It’s my blog! Even this blog has at least 4 entries I’ve started and haven’t had time to sit down and finish yet. And some of the projects go way back...It’s the needlepoint Mickey and Minnie Mouse that I started when I was dating Bill. I could go on and on about the projects I’ve started, or set aside to do, and haven’t. The felt advent calendar I made which needs velcro glued onto all the pieces. The photographing, cataloging, and eventual purging of the kids’ school artwork, dating back to Megan’s first year of preschool (3 years ago). The album chronicling our Christmases. The photo collage of Rachel’s first year. The baby books...OMG! The baby books! The unused drawers of scrapbooking papers, embellishments, and tools I bought a few years ago with the best of intentions. The paint touch ups that need to be done all over the house (last year, our painter kindly spackled over quite a few spots that were cracked, chipped, or in need of repair, and I somehow never got around to painting over them...so now we have nice white spots all over the house). Just sitting here typing this is giving me major anxiety! We have a lovely finished basement, and last year we moved the computer and our “home office” downstairs to the bedroom down there. We have a great flat screen TV down there. But I can’t even work at my craft desk, or watch a TV show down there, because I sit there and look around at all the unfinished piles of STUFF around, and it makes me CRAZY! Here in the basement, two unfinished projects have merged into one giant mess: the Great Basement Flood of May 2010, from which we never fully finished putting things back together and away, and the move of all things “office” and “I don’t know where to put this” down to the basement to prepare for Daniel’s birth.
I don’t want to be this person. I don’t want to be the person who starts things and never finishes them. I want to have time to do all of these things! I want to check them off my ever-increasing, OCD-inspired list. But life keeps happening. Dishes need done. Laundry needs done (even that can take several days from wash to dryer to folding to being put back in our closets!). Meals need made. Appointments must be kept. And did I mention I’m trying to raise and enjoy my three little ones? And work a part time job? Hats off to all you moms who do all this and more, but I can’t figure out your secret! Short of cutting back on sleep (which I’m often doing already anyway, just to get the dishes done), I don’t know how else to create more time in the day!
I keep telling myself that someday, I’ll have all the time in the world to get these projects done. Some day, my kids won’t need me as much. They’ll be in school. Believe me, I’m in no hurry for this day to come....but on the other hand, I really don’t want to have to wait 5 more years to be able to wear this scarf I’m making. Any suggestions? I’ll gladly take them.
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