A Very Long Fall

Here in Colorado, we've had an exceptionally long and warm fall. It is two days after Halloween and we still haven't had a hard frost, at least not in the Denver metro area. And although I'm enjoying it because fall is my favorite season, it's starting to mess with me. As a person no longer working, I have options as to what to do with my days. Which means that I can procrastinate forever when it comes to some tasks like cleaning out drawers and cleaning off my desk. I keep thinking those things can wait until the weather turns cold.

In the meantime, I have one drawer in particular that is getting so full I'm having trouble opening and closing it. And the mess on my desk long ago hid my to-do list. It occurred to me today that if the weather never turns cold, will I simply never take care of these heretofore cold-weather projects? Will I just let the drawer get stuck for good or my desk become the cornerstone for a reality series on hoarders? I mean what do people in Hawaii do? Nothing? Ever?

Since I'm originally from Montana, I can't begin to answer that question. I learned from an early age to get outside to enjoy the weather if it was even close to being nice. But I've lived in Colorado long enough now to know we have enough warm, sunny days to skip a few and get things done inside. And I worked quite a few of those years. Plus I take care of laundry and dishes and occasionally vacuum. So why not clean out that drawer?. It is, after all, a small drawer.

This reminds of the 10th Step: "Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it." This Step is useful in that it keeps us from having to go all the way back to Steps 4 and 5, which are for most of us much more difficult than Step 10. In other words, if I continue to ignore the little messes, they will turn into big messes. No amount of excuses, such as the weather is so nice today (again), will keep the piles from getting bigger.

So "just for today" (or tomorrow now that the sun has set) I will take care of one mess before I let myself bask in yet another beautiful sunny and warm fall day... In reality, I must confess, I haven't really been enjoying the days that much since I don't like clutter - just like I can't really enjoy the company of the God of my understanding if I have amends to make :-)