One Thing #4

Tuesday, June 14
Okay, time to "get back on the saddle" with this . . .
Our May 30 - June 4 goals were:
Jeanne - get laundry done
Louie - adjust bottom rack in oven (while it's cool)
These were pretty minor goals BUT I had meant to do laundry the previous week (and at the end of the school year, life is on fast-forward) so it felt really good to achieve that goal! I had clothes to pack for St. Cloud and I left Louie and Lou with sufficient clothing. (Of course, here I am on 6/14, doing laundry . . . but that's how it goes!)
Louie did his goal last night when I did a little nagging about it. Dude! I had only written it down for him because he kept mentioning it! Every time he preheated the oven, then opened the door to put something in, he commented that he needed to "fix" the thing in the bottom of the oven that had gotten out of place . . . but it was too hot to touch. So anyhow, those both got done.

Last week, I didn't write down new goals for us. As it turned out, my big one was staying cheerful as the Minnesota Quilters Volunteers Co-Chair with Louise. Success. Louie ended up doing some work in the garage and happily discovered the problem with the wiring in the four-wheeler (which has been a project goal for a looooooooong time). Success!

Now that we're practically to the half-way point in the week and I already have a page of goals, I think it will help my attitude to pick one attainable goal that will be completed before we go to the lake.

Jeanne - will wrap up her MQ Co-Chair responsibilities
Louie -

6/27/16
Excellent! I felt so fantastic getting all the MQ stuff done and dropping things off at the Bloomington house for Louise on 6/17. It was truly liberating (and time-consuming). Louie never set a specific goal for the week, but we did a LOT of stuff on his goal list up at the lake last week. His biggest one was to treat the siding on the cabin. Then when he realized he had forgotten to bring the sprayer AND the metal poles for the scaffolding, he set a goal of taking down the huge dead birch trees in the "front" yard. Well, he really, really, really wanted the siding treated, so we did it! With ladders and paintbrushes. I helped with the low parts. It felt so good to get it done - in two days - and move on with things. On Saturday, we (he) cut down the dead trees and I helped clear away the logs and branches. It was quite an ordeal and felt incredibly good to go swimming when we were done.

For June 27 - July 2, we set new goals.
Louie - mow lawn and find water filtration system for Morgan (for BWCA).
Jeanne - work on estate to-do list (from lawyer)

I really struggled yesterday and today with this. It feels so very good to finally really "be" on summer vacation but I'm almost overwhelmed by possibilities and all I'd like to get done! I spent some time during my devotions this morning just seeking God's will. I don't want to fall back into my lists and projects and checking things off . . . there won't be enough time in my life to "do" all the things I think I should or could do.

I went back to the purpose of my starting this "one thing" deal . . . and I recognize that I am someone who can easily get lost in the "stuff" of life. I tend to focus on my failures and short-comings. The reason I pick "one thing" to get done in a week is so that I can enjoy the sense of accomplishment and be grateful that I was able to achieve something concrete. It sounds almost silly to type that, but it's honest. I will do many more things this week (I've already got my first load of laundry in for the week) but it helps me to see the little sign in the entryway with the "one thing" that I hope to accomplish over the course of the week. I'm not sure how long I'll be doing this experiment, but it's also fun to share it with Louie. We both talk about lots of ideas and projects, but it's nice to have a focus. (And I NEED to work on estate stuff - I've been ignoring it for too long.)