Housekeeping and Keeping House

It seems like time disappears in weeks instead of hours lately. I remember not so long ago an afternoon would just melt away and before I knew it, it was time to go to the pubs. I guess with kids, home remodelling and other things going on, time just vaporizes that much faster. Somehow the Summer blew by and I left town only once. I don't feel like I have a whole lot to show for it either. Sure, the kitchen is almost done, but, otherwise, it just was gone in a blink.

Now, with Soccer season starting, I feel like if I don't concentrate I'll awaken from a stupor to find Christmas carolers outside my front door. So, I've resolved to slow time down. No, not like Superman by spinning the earth backwards. I found that time moves most slowly when you do nothing as a routine and every day is completely different. As much as time flies when you're having fun, it rockets by when you're in a rut. Running through the AM routine to get out the door for the bus everymorning may be the most efficient, but not only is it the least inspired, your pre-work morning just got wasted. That's where the title of the post is coming from: who's doing the keeping? Is my house with the chores, errands and tasks keeping me, or and I keeping my house through selective choice?

I finished the french doors last night, and I'll be finishing some trim carpentry this weekend. The list of tasks shortens. The key, to me, is how the time and place of doing the tasks is decided. Honestly, it doesn't matter how hard you try to "get over the hump", because the hump doesn't have a backside - its an endless incline. Dropping everything else to work up the incline harder doesn't actually get you anywhere except further up the incline. Does the list actually end? No. In fact, the quicker items get checked off the list, the faster things get added to the bottom. Meanwhile, your kids are growing up around you, your wife is making career changes, and you're still thinking about some mundane task that "just has to get done".

Not anymore. No more arbitrary deadlines and no more morning routines. Everyone says that life is too short. Well, its even shorter when you aren't paying attention. I promised pictures from the remodel. I'll get to it eventually.