Don't Wait!

One of the best things about pinning a quilt is that it's good thinking time. When I'm pinning a quilt, I'm usually away from all the normal distractions, and the task itself is rather mindless. Of course, pinning quilts is probably most fun when done with a friend to help, but when it's done alone, I find my mind wanders around and ponders all the little things that often pass by unnoticed.

Today I pinned a quilt and thought about a few things. Like not postponing fun, joy, and happiness.

People tell me I get a lot done, and I guess I do. But all of us are busy doing things all the time, unless we're sleeping, so I'm sure we all get things done--it's just a matter of deciding what we want to spend our time doing, right? Not everything we chose to do results in something tangible. For instance, besides pinning a quilt, I spent quite a lot of the day today cleaning out kitchen cupboards, tossing out anything too long past the "best by" date, and reorganizing what remained. I COULD show you photos, but I think you'd be largely unimpressed. We all do these kinds of tasks all the time. When you think about what you get done, don't forget to count all the day-to-day chores!

Really, I think part of the reason it seems I get a lot done is because much of my time is spent MAKING things, so there's something tangible to show at the end. I also manage to use ALL of my time--I try to cram as much as I can into the time I have. If I have to leave the house in ten minutes, I'll usually spend eleven minutes working on SOMETHING rather than sit and wait for the time to pass or leave early. And it's amazing how much I can get done in those little chunks of time.

As I was pinning my quilt, I thought about a friend of mine. She isn't a quilter but she sews and enjoys crafts. When I told her about the Vintage Notions class I was taking at the quilt shop, she was interested in the class but said she couldn't start until January. When I asked her why, she explained that she was going to be gone in December. Upon further inquiry, I learned she'd be gone only about a week, and I don't think her vacation falls at the same time as the class; still, I dropped the subject at that point. It made little sense to me that she didn't feel she had time to take the class until after her December trip, but it was clearly something she didn't think she could take on right now.

A few days later, I was in the quilt shop and asked Lindy, the owner, whether my friend might be able to join the class later if she was interested. That led to a discussion about how different people are about their schedules and their commitments--what for some people is a normal schedule, other people are overwhelmed by. Lindy said she sees the same thing all the time.

As I continued pinning my quilt, I thought about another friend. I had just learned this morning that her husband passed away a few days ago. Of course, that reminded me that life is short--and the older we get, the shorter it seems. I just can't imagine not packing everything I can into the time I have, especially when it comes to the things I enjoy. When there's a choice between doing something NOW or waiting until later, I almost always pick the NOW option because what if there IS no "later"?

Something to think about.