Making Plans

 

I use this diagram - a lot - because it is true.

I've always been motivated by having goals and deadlines.  (If I don't make a (sometimes) arbitrary deadline, I tend to procrastinate - no deadline, no pressure.)

So I had goals for the month of December.  I have a busy January coming up - or at least busy for the current me.  There are things scheduled for the early part of the new year, plus I have the ongoing goal of weaving down as much of my stash as I physically can.

But things happen and repeatedly I make my plans in the evening, then the morning brings news that I must change my plans and do something entirely different.

Being flexible has never been much of an effort for me, but when I have little to zero 'spoons' to begin with, well, being flexible takes spoons just to accept that I have to change plans and accommodate those changes.

During my childhood and young adult years I had very few seniors in my life.  I'm beginning to understand those few I did have a lot more now.  Because staying flexible takes a lot more energy, both mental and physical than I expected.

We used to joke about the aunt who couldn't leave the house without her hair done and her makeup carefully applied.  The uncle who didn't like impromptu gatherings.  We rolled our eyes about how 'rigid' they were.  Never realizing that would, one day, be...me.

We are well into winter now, and there are warnings about a 'deep freeze' coming.  The extreme cold is going to make getting things done even more difficult and the temptation to simply not leave the house will be great.  The fact that I mostly only leave the house for personal maintenance means that I may just stay home even more.

I am grateful that I *have* a home to stay in.  People without a house, living outside, are going to be really hard pressed to stay safe.  I remembered I have a box of hand knit shawls that just need to be wet finished.   I'm thinking I may wet finish a bunch and take them to a warming shelter.  With the indoor relative humidity lower than 30% they won't take long to dry.  

Seems like a plan I need to incorporate into my day today...

And while we, as a society, need to do something long term to address the inequities in our society, there are people who need help *now*.  Extreme cold is as bad as extreme heat.  Long past time to address climate change and society's obstacles, neither of which will be solved in the short term.  In the meantime, I can do something in the short term...