For the last few months I’ve been working on a project that I really want to finish.
I’m frustrated with myself, because I was supposed to be done in March.
Back to the drawing board.
Oh, I’ve got a bunch of excuses reasons why I’m not done. For one, this project is pushing at the limits of my technological skills.
I took a Photoshop class this spring, but I still have some boundary stretching to do in the tech department.
A Grand Illusion
I’d say, don’t try this at home, but you can if you’ve got Photoshop!
Anyway, I’m not done. But all around me things are finishing.
Today was my baby’s son’s last day of high school. It was also my last official day as a parent volunteer at his school.
I sold school t-shirts, but they never made me wear the dragon costume. 🙂
Two days ago I made the 4,449th cheese sandwich (approximately) to go in my kid’s lunch box.
For the last time.
Because a Lunch Box Provided By Your Mom is not one of the choices for his college meal plan (I checked).
For the last nine months, there’s been his last cross country meet, last all district (and this year all state) chorus concerts, last music awards picnic, last piano lesson and recital, last prom, and lots of senior events that continue the You’re Finished theme.
But I’m not finished.
Not yet.
I just need a little more time.
Are you checking stuff off your To Do List? Tell me, I’d love some inspiration. Or a hug. Or a donut. And speaking of donuts…
Happy National Donut Day!!
xo
**If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to receive my new posts straight to your inbox. Just add your email in the space at the top of the right sidebar under my photo.
Coleen Patrick 
Oh, Colleen, you are SO not alone! This has been the story of my life (and probably most people’s) for most of my life. Life will ALways detour us. I have been saying/intending to launch my blogs for about 1 1/2 years. I’m lucky when I’ve gotten to focus on them in a couple of short spurts. IF nothing else big comes up, I SHOULD be able to tackle them in the next few days, though my father goes in for unexpected surgery on Monday, and so and so on. There’s always something that keeps stuff on our To Do lists much longer than we wanted them there. You just have to go with the flow…
Allen Saunders: Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.
—Publishers Syndicate (http: //quote investigator. com/2012/05 /06/other-plans/)
LikeLike
You are so right! Every time I get frustrated I remind myself to chill–and also to try and enjoy the journey and not the result. Sending good thoughts your way for your father.
LikeLike
Funny, here I am on a Friday at almost 5pm going through all my work emails checking off stuff on my to-do list here and your post popped up. Never enough time……
Have a great weekend! 🙂
LikeLike
Never ever enough, but I love how Fridays tend to make me kind of forget about To Do lists for a little while. 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve got The Chairmen of the Board’s “Give Me Just a Little More Time” stuck in my head. It’s a 1970 song with a Motown feel. I hope it sticks around for a while.
Coleen, you’ve made the most of your time with the kids in the nest, and I suspect you’ll fill the empty nest with your interests and enthusiasms. The day will come when you’ll be glad you don’t have to pack a school lunch. Really.
Too bad you didn’t get to wear the dragon costume, though.
LikeLike
Green IS a flattering color. 🙂 Thanks for the encouragement, Pat. And I’m going to look up that song right now.
LikeLike
Like your youngest, my oldest is graduating high school…and I don’t think either case is easy, so I’ll share a hug and a donut with you!
I only have 4 things of my writing to-do list (and a million on my home and family to-do list, but that list is never ending) and I’ve only crossed off one. Ack…and the week is ending. Is it time to panic yet? 😉
Have a lovely weekend!
LikeLike
Hugs and donuts back at ya, Teresa! 🙂 I say put the panic on hold til Monday!
LikeLike
Coleen I am on the same road, trying to finish illustrations for my picture book I was afraid to set a date to finish as I know as mum life gets in the way of my passions…and thats okay. My daughter all of eleven years old grabbed the calendar and marked a date. She said come on Mum you can do this…you know what? it spurred me on, I may not finish on that date but I am going to try.
Keep at it Coleen eat lots of donut rewards and you will get there…keep us posted and have fun.
LikeLike
Thanks, Kath! What a great inspiration boost from you daughter. Awesome. Happy creating! 🙂
LikeLike
It’s so bittersweet, isn’t it, to see our babies grow up? My daughter graduated last year and isn’t more than a couple of hours away at college, but I miss her. A lot. Still, she’s grown up to be a smart, witty, independent, confident young woman, and I couldn’t be more proud of her. Plus, there’s never, EVER enough time in the day for all my stuff to get done. Which is why I need some slave-clones… Have a great weekend!
LikeLike
Happy, confident kids equals happy parents for sure! Thanks, CJ. Let’s work on those slave clones. I’ve got some major housework for them.
LikeLike
I’ve almost finished a zombie book but that’s a lot shorter than yours.Take your time *hugs*
LikeLike
I’m looking forward to your zombie book, Catherine!!!
LikeLike
Oh Coleen, I feel you. I need a little more time for a lot of things. I find myself with time at works some days because there’s not a lot to do, but I cannot use that time to do the other things I enjoy in my life, like writing, crafting, napping, etc. Those things are frowned upon at my office.
Congratulations on your son’s graduation. It’s hard when they grow up, but rewarding in other ways. Hang in there.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
LikeLike
That’s so frustrating. I’ve had jobs like that. I mean I know it’s their time, but still when I’ve got nothing to do, I want to be doing my thing. As far as napping at work, you’ve got me thinking of George Costanza from Seinfeld. He had that napping station built under his desk at work. 🙂
LikeLike
Oh wow, that sounds sooooo much like my current project! I was expecting to have it finished by February… or at least March! Though in my case, it wasn’t techie or graphics stuff holding me up (Photoshop and techie stuff is my thing), it was everything else LOL.
And yeah, I remember all those “lasts,” too! (I just have one kid, so many were firsts and lasts at the same time!)
That doughnut sure does look tasty…. 😀
LikeLike
I have confidence we will get our projects done! This one is definitely teaching me to chill, because whether I stress or not, it’s still waiting for me. 🙂 Hope you get plenty of happy writing time, Jennette.:)
LikeLike
I join the group — you are not alone. I need to be working on something there are a million other things I find to distract me. I’m impressed that you took Photoshop. Don’t think I’d pass. Hugs, Patricia
LikeLike
Thanks, Patricia! I was determined to get through the class. I kind of wanted to quit that first day, because not only was it a foreign software, the class was being taught on Macs. I’d never used a Mac. I was sweating that day, but plugged along one frustrated sigh at a time. 🙂
LikeLike
I love how you weave the frustration of not getting something finished with the bittersweet realization that your day-to-day life as a mother will be finished all too soon. And I love your son’s lunch — what will he do without those cheese sandwiches???
LikeLike
Thanks, Dianne! I think he will be eating loads of cereal in the college cafeteria! Years ago he once told us that he was looking forward to college because of the variety of cereals in the cafeteria. 🙂
LikeLike
I wonder. Can anyone make a national anything day? My votes would be for Sleeping, Writing, and Disney (assuming none of those already exist).
This is always a hard time of year for me. I’m not fond of endings. Even though I know that endings mean new beginnings, I still feel like I’m losing something important from my life.
Have a great summer, and here’s a hug. (Sorry, I ate the donuts.) Kate
LikeLike
Thanks for the hug, Kate. Hope your summer is a happy one! Let me know when it’s National Sleeping Day!! 🙂
PS No worries about the donuts, there’s always more.
LikeLike
I love the dragon costume… we are sharks and have a dandy shark costume, mostly kids wear it and stand in line to wear it, to be the shark, it allows them to don a persona, to be someone they’re not (sorta like that chicken costume)… not a bad thing for a moment. as for your list, I am the king of distractions, or maybe the crown prince… I am always finding (or making, or being given) something that takes my eye off the prize…. keep at it! Have a great week!
LikeLike
A shark costume sounds cool. Although I’d probably walk around quoting the old SNL skit– “Land shark.” :)Thanks, Clay. Happy summer!
LikeLike
Coleen, I’ve come to the conclusion that to-do lists are like laundry. If you ever get it all done, it will only stay that way for a very brief time. And more often, the list gets longer, not shorter.
But I do love it when I can check something big off of that sucker!
As to your baby finishing high school, congrats to him, and condolences to you. I’ve been an empty nester for over a decade now, but I still remember the bittersweetness when that newly-minted, thinks-he’s-an-adult, semi-grown child heads off to college. There are definitely some advantages to having an empty nest though. Sometimes, I run around the house in my undies, just because I can! 😀
LikeLike
Ah freedom! Thanks for the reminder, Kassandra–and the smiles. 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve got a long to do list – blogging chores, organizing the condo, etc. Donuts…at the top and bottom of the list and always and easy one to get done. Can’t seem to get anything else done as quickly as I want to! Congrats to your accomplished son on graduating. A memorable milestone for all of you. As for photoshop….it can be overwhelming…aggravating at times…and addicting!
LikeLike
Yes, addicting is a good word for it! Surprising how many hours I can spend doing photoshop! THanks, Penny. 🙂
LikeLike
Well, it looks to me like you have Photoshop skills for sure! I took one of those classes and can’t remember for the life of me how to do what you did there! Sigh.. things just don’t “stick” with me as easily these days. Maybe that’s why everything takes me so much more time??
LikeLike
Oh i have this problem too. I HAVE to write it all down–or if it’s on the web, bookmark the instructions in a folder. I always think I will remember, but I always need my notes. 🙂
LikeLike
Big hugs. Watching your baby leave the nest is a tough thing for a mama. I know that I stood in the card aisle at Walmart and bawled while I was reading graduation sentiments. Seriously, I had to leave and come back later. As for Photoshop, it’s looking pretty good:)
LikeLike
That would be me crying in the card aisle too!!! Thanks! 🙂
LikeLike
Ah, this sounds like a very familiar tune over here. I’ve been thrashing myself with the forever lengthening deadline of releasing Hello Pepi books, and that’s just the beginning on a long list of delays. For me, real life has loomed ahead of everything this year, and sometimes I despair, feeling like nothing ever gets done. But then Ms reminds me that my deadlines are only self imposed. And in the end, sometimes real life matters more. Linger on the ‘lasts’, Coleen. They are way more important than anything else… xo
LikeLike
Uh Coleen, you’ve had a lot of stuff going on. Nothing like a graduation to mess things up. I mean, how dare he interrupt your schedule? lol. “Because a Lunch Box Provided By Your Mom is not one of the choices for his college meal plan (I checked).” LOLOL! Keep laughing Coleen! We moms are in an emotional turmoil during this life-altering period and there’s no escaping it. But the photoshop is looking good girl! ((Hugs!)) 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks, Karen! I knew you’d understand the lunchbox thing! 🙂
LikeLike