Possibilities

The week ahead is a big one; so much is riding on it...

My wedding anniversary has snuck up on us again. This week marks the end of a wonderful 14 year walk through life, with my wife at my side. Also in her arms, and sometimes being dragged by my hair! Seriously, it has been an amazing adventure, and not one where I look back with longing and regret. Instead, I am sure in the knowledge of how blessed I am to walk these unknown paths of life together with Donna. I have absolutely desire to be young again, or richer than I am, instead am so happy and thankful for rich experiences and people who have coloured my existence.

Awestruck goes live this week! A project which has sucked up time over the last year. So much debate, planning, thinking, modelling, improved planning, agreements, and conversations, have been woven into this period. It has all come together in a fantastic web site which aims to create an on line Catholic community to inspire Catholics to act with love. It is ambitious, creative, out there, demanding, and if it works, highly fulfilling. It is hard to explain how important this launch is to me. A year of my time invested, and it all comes down to this week.

To make the week more exciting, I need to prepare for four training courses I have scheduled over the next three weeks. The course is titled Commercial Competence for Managers. Despite the dry nature of finance, we are going to have some fun, but in order to make the fun happen, I need to be oh so highly prepared. It is going to be tight to find enough time...

In between presenting my course to myself and my imaginary posse, I will be finalising the sale and movement of the two old ladies I sold last week. For anyone concerned, I am referring to two battered old Jaguars, who have found better owners. There is hope another old Jaguar of mine, currently undergoing a makeover, will hit the road running this week. Although, truth be told, I have been hopeful of this for the last 8 months.

So much to look forward to, I can barely wait. And did I mention there is some swell this week, so I may have to sneak off for a wave or two as well...

I like weeks filled to the brim with possibilities!

Perfection - overrated!

Being a wanna be perfectionist makes life hard! I like having my ducks in a row. Well, truth be told, I don’t have any ducks, but I like my books aligned on the bookshelves, flowers growing parallel to the bed borders, the pool sparkling, and all clutter packed away!

I like having a plan for life and then celebrating as it runs smoothly according to that plan. Lately though, the plan seems horribly flawed. Celebrations are few and far between, weeds are growing in the driveway, bugs are gnawing on the vegetables, and the dishes are piling up in the sink!

The rot seems to have started with the small members of the house; they just fail to fall into line when told to do so. What is with that? Backchat, whining, arguments, and tears. Even the animals seem to have minds of their own, pestering for food well before their allotted meal times. Everyone seems to be fighting; be it cat on cat or brother on brother. Have they not read the memo on keeping it together, sometimes backing down even when you are right! We will have to go through that speech again, another deviation from the plan.

Unfortunately someone also seems to have forgotten to explain the plan to the new madam of the house. She seems unfazed by the fact that she is still not adhering to the specified night sleeping plan, i.e. sleep when it is dark! Then she carelessly ignores the correct feeding quantities; preferring instead to want more when you don’t have it and not finish what you have when you do. This young lady's attitude is going to have to change and change fast.

Yet it is the smallest and newest member of the household that has opened my eyes.Sitting in the dark, tired as can be, looking into her wide awake eyes, whilst stuffing a bottle into her mouth, I realised something. Life has its own plan. I can choose to fight for my plan or I can accept the myriad of possibilities on offer. Each to be seized as and when they present themselves.

Sometimes it is just fine to revel in disorder and go with the flow. To ignore the dirty dishes, the bugs, and the weeds, and simply rejoice in being alive!

Thinking, not writing

So many words have been aimlessly tumbling around in my head for days. Strings of adjectives, pronouns, and a metaphor or two! Prose so pretty it makes me smile. My mind so fatigued with baby demands that it is all but forgotten in an instant.

Work has seen many dormant projects rise out of the ashes like proverbial phoenix’s and clamour for our attention. At a time when everyone is winding down, I find myself winding up. The challenge has awakened my brain which has been lulled into complacency by intra feeding sleeps.

Yet sitting here, my words wither and dry up. Ideas sparkle and vanish without a trace. My head spins with possibilities and what if’s. And the screen in front of me remains obstinately blank. My energy seems to have been spent.

I will try again tomorrow...