For months, my assistant, Cami, and I have purged old files and cleaned out my cabinets in my office. I had not done that since 2016 – 6 years ago! We made good progress and then I got sick with COVID. All the stuff we had done was invisible, hiding in empty drawers and cabinets. However, the to-do pile was very visible, taking up space on the floor in my office and on the bed and floor of my spare bedroom.
It was so tempting to just stuff all that stuff back in the drawers and not really go through it, but my energy was so low that I could not even do that much. Now, I’m so glad I waited. This weekend, while Dave, my husband, was recovering and the temperature was 103 outside, I spent a little time in the office and made great progress. Little Time + Lots of Focus = Great progress.
That progress rewarded me with more energy. The energy to tackle the guest bedroom, which is now ready for your visit. Then my husband’s office on Sunday. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it.
Now here is the real secret. I had encouragement, support, and a goal, and together they made magic almost as good as fairy godmother magic!
I found myself lingering in this low place of sickness, the loss of a dear friend, and a project not going according to plan. I had started to feel better last week and I knew I had to get my energy back for the Quarterly Team Meeting we hosted at my house on the 21st. I knew I wanted my office and house to look good when my team was here (this was my goal), so I was going to slog through.
Then, a fellow author and entrepreneur reached out about potentially collaborating. Susie breathed new life in me and she helped me reconnect with my book, reminding me of its core message: who it’s for and the vital need moms have. We need to feel appreciated and sometimes we need encouragement.
This was like a shot in the arm, and it was fast-acting. I started on my office cleanup that night because I wanted those empty drawers to be organized so I could find my art supplies for a course that I’m going to take on creativity, led by Susie. It is Step 1 of our collaboration.
With the Goal and Encouragement in place, I still found myself slogging through making decisions about what to keep and what to trash. I became numb and didn’t know the right choice to make on some things. Rather than sit there stymied, I phoned a friend, my dear old friend Nancy, and asked my question. What should I do with all these left over workshop packets?
Nancy is a Senior Move Manager. She clears out people’s stuff when they are late in life (Seniors) and she knows what’s important. She simply said, “I’m always surprised how most of the stuff we keep from our work, we never go back to.” TRASH IT! All those extra copies from talks I gave years ago – gone to the recycling bin.
The cool thing about my clean out was this: I also found a handmade sketch book, beautiful cover, handmade with pressed flowers and handmade paper inside. This is a true gem of a book and it was a gift from 2002, 20 years ago, from my same dear friend Nancy. The inscription was beautiful and relevant 20 years later in our friendship. She was my support way back then too.
Isn’t it funny how life circles back and teaches us new lessons? I know how important support is, I wrote an entire chapter in my book, Motherhood, Apple Pie and All That Happy Horseshit, about this very topic. Yet what I love about my recent weekend discovery is how support, paired with a goal, plus a side of encouragement is like a shot of B12. Pure gold!
