5/5/11

To ev'ry thing

(turn, turn, turn)
There is a season
(turn, turn, turn)
And, a time for ev'ry purpose, under heaven......

It is time to slow the whirling dervish. Stop the pinball bouncing off of things. Those things have had their season...at least for right now.

Okay, so when I'm being a whirling dervish, creatively spinning like a top, with partially completed projects flying out of the vortex like debris out of a tornado, there's only one thing that can stop the spinning.

I need a list. And, I need to clean. Those are my anchors.

Rob knows that when I'm spinning around like this and frustrated and stressed, the sign that change is coming is a good clean.

It started yesterday, when I wrote down all my outstanding projects, wrote the steps to complete them, and assigned each a priority number.

Last night, after a very frustrating afternoon at work, I made a plan for how I can change my work experience and hopefully make it a more positive one.

Then, I washed dishes.

And, this morning, I finished my MIL's quilt and instead of picking something else up, or continuing to rip out quilting and replace it, I started working on that pile of scraps and moving them into the scrap users system; picking seams and sorting by size and straightening edges. Making those scraps usable, so now I can use them up. And, leaving a clean space where they used to be.

Rob will be happy because now I can finally finish the kitchen I started painting and have left half done for 6 weeks.

My boss will be happy because, historically, when I settle down, I do some really great work.

And, Sydney was just happy she didn't have to do the dishes last night.

Life is a cycle for me. Up. Down.

Both serve a great purpose in my life. In the up times, I'm creative as hell. In the down times, I'm reflective and caring and am most likely to open myself to new emotional experiences. But, in the transition, when up changes to down, or the other way around, and those two extremes compete for control, I'm a pain in the ass to everybody. Moody. Cranky. Grumpy. All the bad dwarves, except Sneezy (and in spring and fall, he gets inside my head, too.)

I know I'm not alone. So, if you're transitioning, hang in there. Try something comforting and hold on. If you're not transitioning, enjoy the high...or the low, whichever it is. And, if this doesn't describe you, then you're lucky. Hey, I may be crazy, but I'm never boring.

Oh, and you're welcome for the Byrd's song I stuck in your head.

Lane

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, you're crazy. But you're not alone on that. Living alone most of my life, I tend to give myself a talking to when I'm too down or negative. It spills over (the talking to myself) when I'm not among other people. It use to bother me if I was 'caught', but it doesn't anymore. Let them think what they want. Thanks for sharing your moods, remedies.
cindy

Paulette said...

Oh man...can I ever relate to this. I do the same thing--clean--when I'm switching gears to hopefully settle down and get something done. Good to know I'm not the only one.

Bonnie K. Hunter said...

"Hey, I may be crazy, but I'm never boring." Hey! I can SO relate to this! I've been spinning since I got home...too much too much too much. I need to just do one thing at a time...is it possible? can I?

We'll see!

Bonnie

Piece by Piece said...

Lane, I can also relate to this. Miserable weather has me turning, can't get settled into doing anything. Today,islovely sunny day, I have a list and working like there is no tomorrow.
Thanks for the tune, yes, I am singing.
Patricia

Becky said...

That'll fix it! There's nothing better than a good cleaning spree. After you get everything back on track it will feel like a weight has been lifted!!

Paul said...

If you're still whirling at the end of the day and need to do some more cleaning... You are welcome to come to my home. I'll leave the light on and the door unlocked.

JK - I wish that was my solution for frustration or for slowing the dervish, I'd live in the cleanest house in America.

Don't get me wrong, my home is not dirty, it gets cleaned regularly, I just HATE doing it. I HATE cleaning with a passion. I would rather do almost anything than clean.

You did make me stop for a second though, and reflect a little bit. You are right, we should try to enjoy the low as much as we do the high, for that is what brings balance to life, isn't it???

Crunchy Diva said...

i hear you about the ups & downs & like you my ups are very creative times then followed by downs where i'm more reflective. can't wait to hear about how productive you'll be over the next little while.

INKcredible Girl said...

I'm glad you share the up's and downs of your life it makes me feel like I'm not the only one like that .

Michelle said...

When things get out of hand here, out of order, and too much clutter, whether out in the open or hidden away (I still know it's there), it almost suffocates me. I cant even think or function until I start getting things back into 'order'.

Wonder why we are like that....well, it's probably good we are, or we might be featured on 'Hoarders: Buried Alive'. (Shudder!)