I just went over the calendar from now until May 13, which is 52 days (not counting today, but counting that last day). Sometimes we get really ramped up over the very short term (what’s going to happen this week) or the very long term (what’s going to happen in the next year), and we don’t think in the medium term. So it struck me this morning that there are several pretty big events (PBE’s) that are going to take place over these next 7 ½ weeks:
1. The hopeful little sprouts from the seeds that I planted on Saturday will be seedlings that are ready to plant outside. (The particular sprout pictured is a marigold; there are plenty of others that haven’t come up yet.) Colorado’s absolutely-safest date for the last frost is May 15, so I think I can plan to plant on the 13th.
2. The Cherry Creek Chorale will have had its last performance for the season. (Be sure to come!) I will have baked dozens of cupcakes for the May 12 after-concert reception.
3. The year of study with Bible Study Fellowship will be over, with the last class having been May 3 and sharing day on May 10.
4. The house will have sold. (I hope! House-buying season should be heating up soon.)
5. The remodeling over at the in-laws’ will be finished and we will have moved in. (Isn’t it interesting to look at the major events that, well, grow, from a tiny, well, seed? Not to belabor the analogy or anything!) Today Jim is over there being on the spot as the electrical work is being done for the new kitchen. The plumber is coming tomorrow. Things are moving along quite well, and I couldn’t be happier about it. There were times last fall when I thought the whole idea was just going to die a-borning, but that stage has now passed with a vengeance. It is very, very exciting to contemplate this next stage of our lives.
6. Although this last one doesn’t affect me directly, it certainly is important to me, and that is that my son Gideon will have found out whether or not he got a residential slot at one of the graduate programs he applied for. He knows he’s “high on the waiting list” for the one at Virginia Tech (they only take three), and he’s gotten a “no” from two others. That leaves five that he hasn’t heard from yet. He’s coming along with us on the move regardless, of course, as he wouldn’t be going off to his program until next fall.
So as I thought about this whole 52-day stretch I was inspired to make the most of it and to appreciate each day as it passes, instead of doing what I usually do and just think, ‘Oh, this will all be over by mid-May and I can relax!’ No, no, no. (The summer will have its own projects and challenges, believe me.) Our tendency (or at least my tendency) is always to want things to be over with. Even things I enjoy. Isn’t that kind of ironic? I love, love, love singing with the Cherry Creek Chorale, and at the same time I look forward to the end of the season, when I won’t have to go to rehearsal every Tuesday night. Weird, weird, weird.
What’s coming up for you over the next few weeks? How can you embrace the challenges and enjoy each day as it passes?