I don’t know about you, but for me Friday afternoon holds so much hope. The weekend seems full of potential. I dreamily plan all the things I’m going to accomplish in the next two days—all the projects I will finish. This weekend, I vow, I will not squander away daylight but be productive. And not just productive, I will be creative. I will DO!
Inevitably, I stay up too late on Friday night, sleep in on Saturday morning, and find myself lounging around in my PJs at 2:30 on Saturday afternoon pondering just where I put my resolve. I suffer from delusions of grandeur quite often, but never more so than on Friday afternoon.
Which, is probably why sometime on Sunday afternoon, after a rushed breakfast and heralding the family out the door and off to church, I find myself desperately attempting to redeem my weekend. A load or two of laundry here, a spruced up kitchen there. Haul out the vacuum. Dust a few surfaces. Hey, look, I can see the floor.
Tidied up but hardly perfect, I can’t help but notice how much around here can be classified as a WIP. Rooms half painted, carpets in DIRE need of steam cleaning, purchased drawer organizers lounging around waiting for me to decide just which drawer gets the honor. . . we aren’t going to chat about the “vintage” late 80’s wallpaper that screams at me every time I enter the kitchen. And laundry? Laundry is by definition a Work in Progress. There’s always more to be done. Always.
All of it is just waiting for me to find my resolve. But you know, and I know, these are not the projects I want to tackle. There’s a huge difference between being productive and being creative. No, what’s calling me is the collection of hand-made ceramic buttons I bought on etsy. And I hear my sewing machine singing to me from the upstairs, too! Clearly, I’m an addict in deep need of a fix.
On a Sunday afternoon, there is only one destination: a fabric store. There is redemption in a bolt of cheap cotton. And as I throw my newly purchased bargain barn fabric into the washer (see, see, I’m learning!) I discover where I left my resolve. It was in the laundry room all along.
This time, this time, I will finish what I start. I will. I will. Because like Friday afternoon, Sunday is full of promise.
A new week is coming. A new day is here. What are you finishing? What are you beginning? Where do you keep your resolve?
I looked in my laundry room. No resolve there.
I looked in the utility closet and found Resolve carpet cleaner.
That’s close enough for me 🙂
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Heh, I knew someone would make the carpet cleaner joke. 😉 ~W
At the very least, I sympathise – I pull the same routine every weekend, and then wind up feeling like time is lost on Sunday. And, while I feel bad about losing time for work, I feel even worse about losing time for play. But, like you say, it’s a new week, and my resolve is sitting right along side a big deadline that I have to meet – talk about motivating!
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True! There is a flip side to being overproductive in that it makes it easy to forget to LIVE. 😀 ~W
Yes, I understand the promise of a Friday afternoon. I do the same thing. But, here I am on Sunday with MORE work to do and less time (and resolve) to do it. I have laundry to do today. I have a desk to assemble (or coerce my husband into doing it for/with me). I have lessons to plan, copies to make, and so many cleaning/decluttering/organizing jobs in my house that I can’t even start a list. And, of course, all I want to do is practice my newly acquired skill of crochet.
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A new skill is addictive. It’s hard to walk away. I’m jonesing to make another top just like the one I’m wearing!! 😀 ~W
Please tell Boy Wonder that I love his fabric mosaic!
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I will, I will!! 😀 ~W
Oh, heavens, that sounds All. Too. Familiar. The resolve, the love of Friday afternoons, the up too late on Friday nights, the sleeping in on Saturday mornings, the PJ’s at 2.30 on Saturday afternoon. Seriously! The only difference is, I pretty much rinse & repeat on Sunday too, which is most distressing! And then, yes, a wee bit of fluffing on Sunday afternoon by way of redemption 😉
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I’m all about the redemption. 😀 ~W
I can be TOO determined and resolved, although I’ve gotten a lot better. I get goals in mind and nothing must get in their way. Today I looked around and decided that the house needed cleaning, so I did it and now it looks nicer. I feel peaceful that it’s done. And my daughter wrote on her myspace under Heroes: my mom. I don’t give her enough credit. That made my day. I may e-mail you the site so you can go see for yourself.
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Thank you so much for sending the link. It’s good to see the tide has turned some for you and YD. ~W
OH dear…we would get along famously…and never get anything done if we lived closer to each other. OR…we would totally do things at each other’s house…LOL!! It depends on the weekend what I get done, sometimes it’s so much…I can hardly believe it…other times…well? Not so much!
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Ah, but we’d be so happy we wouldn’t care or notice! 😀 ~W
This post, combined with Sunday’s sermon, is a nice reflection of the sort of resolve, lapse, resolve cycle that lots of us go through, pretty much constantly. Right now, I’m working on getting the cat to lose weight. (snort)
I like the finished collage. I like oil pastels, too- that photo makes me want to “do art.”
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Ok, laughing so darn hard at the cat losing weight post. That poor cat! I shouldn’t laugh at his misery, but I can so relate! ~W
I need a sewing machine, don’t I.
Your weekend cycle seems just fine to me. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
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Oh, I don’t spend any time worrying about it. But it is interesting to notice my habit. And yes, yes you do need a sewing machine. 😀 ~W
Thanks for stopping by and sharing the joy of having a boy! I love this post. I love that feeling. The feeling of freedom ahead and the wonderful plans to accomplish betterness. Whether it be a clean bedroom, an organized drawer, a hung painting or a new sewn bag. I just love that feeling of knowing something good is going to happen. On Monday morning I get that feeling. I’m so excited to see how my week will unfold. Will I screw it up? Will I screw it up and then mend it? I hope I do good this week. Let’s not expect toooo much of ourselves, let just expect to have made life a little better each day.
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Monday morning is the day I always plan to “start” something. As in, “On Monday, I’ll go back to the gym.” Or “On Monday, I’ll tackle the laundry.” Ha! What’s the adage? Every day, in every way, I’m getting better? Or something like that, eh? 😀 ~W
amen, sistah!! it’s funny, i find i am the most productive in the mornings, before work. i set my alarm for 5:30, hit snooze until 6:15, and then make myself nearly late washing dishes and doing laundry from the night before. but then on the days i actually manage to get up at 5:30, i simply get on the internet, and nearly make myself late THAT way. never a happy medium. on my perpetual to-do list is: laundry (duh), and my backyard, before i have missed another spring without flowers.
you’d think i’d realize that if i got up that much earlier on the week days, i could not feel guilty ALL WEEKEND LONG about having a messy house, and wanting to play instead of work.
i think you have inspired me to get up at 5:30 tomorrow and the rest of the week and see what comes of it. i’ll let you know how it goes.
ramble ramble. cute collage!
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Oh geeze… 5:30? I cannot compute. 😀 ~W
I could have written this post. {not as elegantly} but you captured exactly what I was thinking this weekend. I had big dreams on Friday of getting so much done. I did have resolve, really… but come Sunday, scrambling to church, and then getting back home, my list was still untouched. Oh well. We played a lot of board games like candyland, operation, memory and read tons of books. I think that is more important than a clean house 🙂 There is always today and tomorrow 🙂
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Oh, I think playing is far more important! Houses can wait and will always need cleaning. Children will not always be children. ~W
I just want you to know, Missy, that I have read this post not once, not twice, but THREE times. So, I may not be the most faithful commenter, but I AM READING.
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Oh, I know you’re reading… I can see you on my handy dandy stats package. I just wonder what you’re thinking! ~W
I like to be mysterious.
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So I see. 😀 ~W
The artwork G did seems to show a boat with a captain full of resolve. Are those storm clouds on the way out? Land Ho! A joyous sound for any sailor, right?
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What have you been drinking? Willing to share?? ~W
Weekends are for lounging. The family is around so no cleaning can be done. We use our weekends to go to Dance competitions 3-5 hours away! urgh. I want to sleep in and lounge one of these days. Sewing would be fun, too. Oh well.
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Oh, competitive sports are the death of weekends. So glad my kid doesn’t do any. 😀 ~W