Behind me on the counter in my office where the printers live, is a stack of magazines that I have yet to find the time to read. Many of them are October and November issues, but only because sometime last weekend when I was not feeling that great, I sat down and read through a handful of them. I can testify to the fact that there were at least three, if not four, issues from the summer still hanging around.
In the kitchen, at the end of the counter in front of my Cuisinart food processor, is a stack of mail belonging to my daughter. Most of it has been opened, and all of it is college related. The fliers, postcards, and packets arrive on a daily basis now, offering her waived enrollment fees and campus tours. I add the new pieces into the pile and wonder how she does not become overwhelmed with all of the choices being presented to her. She tells me that she gets dozens of emails a day, sometimes multiple emails from the same school, trying to convince her that she wants to attend these institutes of higher learning.
Next to me, on the table that has served as my desk for all of these years, is a pile of papers that I keep meaning to deal with. A guide to updating my resume, so that I can begin searching for a new job. A letter from the credit union that holds my mortgage payments, offering to refinance my car loan, and the last statement from the bank that holds my car loan, so that I can see if it is worth my effort. Somewhere in that pile is to-do list of snacks to make when I get a chance, and what I plan on eating this week for lunch and dinner.
My yard is littered with piles of leaves, needing be raked up before the first snow falls. The wind has blown them into piles against the house, the fence, and the hedges. My neighbor hired a young kid to come and tend to his leaves, and he showed up one drizzly day last week with a leaf blower, and began blowing leaves into piles...in my yard. I would like to say that this was a huge help and I am grateful for the head start, except that in his youthful eagerness to be finished with what appeared to be an overwhelming job, he basically just made a mess of leaves everywhere he went. It's a start, however, which is more than we had before.
In a basket next to the TV stand, not too far from my favorite chair, is a pile of unfinished knitting projects in clear storage bags to protect them from the sharp claws of my cats. I thought if I took the projects that I was in the middle of, and put them out by my chair, I would be inspired to work on them when I sat down to watch TV in the evening, or when I had a free afternoon to watch a movie with The Boy. The problem with that plan, is the lack of time to watch TV in the evening, or a free afternoon. Life has been hectic these past few months with the fall marching season and the start of school.
There are piles of belongings left behind in Corey's room that need sorting through, and organizing when he comes home over Thanksgiving break. The fall cleaning got off to a great start back in August, and then quickly stalled. The calendar reads November now, which puts a pressing urgency into my mind, knowing that soon the calendar will be flipping over again, and Christmas will be upon us. I feel like if I could just get my life in order, everything else will feel a little bit more settled. I think I will start with some of these piles.
