Fifteen Minutes

Sometimes it feels like I bite off more than I can chew. Most of it is self-inflicted. I'm a master list maker. I have folders for everything. I told my daughter yesterday I get tired of always being in a state of self improvement. My lists are never ending. I fall short of my own expectations every day.

I don't want to get so caught up in what I haven't done, that I miss the joy of what I have accomplished. The basement is coming along. I'm about halfway through the chaos. I've been pecking away at it fifteen minutes at a time. Pretty soon I will have an organized basement, lots of things for the thrift shop and a place to store the pretty things I'm not using right now but would like to keep. I'm certain I could have a vintage tablecloth curtain in my kitchen in just fifteen minutes.

I'd like to use the fifteen minute rule for other things too, like taking a much needed walk. Or sitting in the sunshine (should the sun ever come out again!). Fifteen minutes can do a world of good like taking 15 minutes to call my beloved mother-in-law or writing a note to someone I know could use some encouragement.

The other day when I picked up my mother to start on our trip, she asked me if I wanted to take a few minutes to see her daffodils. I did. My stepfather, Scott, has a beautiful yard with long rows of daffodils blooming. He's planted them all to please my mother. I took the time to discover the pink daffodils Mom expressed a desire for last spring. On Mother's Day, I gifted her with a promise of bulbs for the fall planting. This spring they have bloomed. I took fifteen minutes to stop and see the flowers. It's a bit cliche, I know.

Fifteen minutes toward a goal. Fifteen minutes to cheer someone up. Fifteen minutes to take a breath and a break. Fifteen minutes to see the beauty before us.