found this post in my drafts for editing last week - guess the subject has been on my mind for a while. forget the getting back to normality shit - we're into summer vacation mode right now - anything but normal for ten weeks!
Normality? what's that?
Just a year ago, we were getting ready to put the house up for sale. It meant a whole heap of decluttering and throwing out unnecessary belongings to make room to look minimal. Staging the house was a breeze after this as suddenly our storage cupboards were empty.
And then it was sell/buy full swing.
Clean the house.
Stash stuff away.
Clean some more.
Stage.
Don't touch the white towels.
Clean.
Tidy.
Stash.
Nag bitch, nag - issue the reminders, keep the house saleable.
And then we did sell. Packing, decluttering the remainder and sorting between rental and storage, trying to second guess what we might need and for how long we might be living no fixed abode.
More nagging. Inevitable.
Fitting in my work around the domestics. Inevitable.
Moved into rental, unpacked and then packed for moving out. Unpacked in our new home just in time for Christmas - guessed right!
And in between all the packing, unpacking, reminding, arranging for contractors and renovations and materials and tradesmen ... I gave up giving a fuck.
Furniture still in the basement? who gives a shit?
Books in boxes? wtf they can stay there.
Items temporarily relocated for renovations? temporary? wtf
Garage piled high like a junk yard? I can get to my bike and my workbench so what?
But recently - I'm finding that the ability to give a shit about the sweet home we live in is returning. I care about my living environment; paintings hung, curtains refreshed, sofa set up in its summer covers, furniture set out in a pleasing arrangement, outdoor living in comfort ... my housemates? ... all they need are walls and a roof apparently. Simple tastes, simple life, or waiting for someone else to do it all?
Over this last year, I've found that my energy is no longer limitless; my strength is not what it used to be. I don't have endless stretches of time at my disposal. Since I can't do everything, I plan to spend my time and energy wisely, to concentrate on the projects that inspire, re-energise and invigorate me, and keep the spirit of giving a shit flowing back.
