If The Big Stuff is Too Big, May I Please Sweat The Small Stuff?

Okay, so during those periods in your life when you feel completely overwhelmed, (don’t anyone try to pretend you’ve never experienced something like that!) you know how sometimes you just can’t handle all the big stuff? Right now I’ve got a list that is literally pages long of things that I think we need to do to get the house ready to list. And I talked to our realtor yesterday and he is of the opinion that we should probably paint the house, too. (For those of you who may have forgotten, I live in Nebraska. And it’s January. Yeah.) There are curtain rods to hang, trim to paint, carpets to clean, a vanity to install, carpet to lay…I am literally starting to freak out just thinking about it!

There are also a few very insignificant things that I’m working on right now that are small. Small enough that I can possibly get them done. Maybe – dare I say it – check them off a list? Those are the things that I am choosing to obsess over right now. It’s driving Mr. Bug nuts. He doesn’t understand how I can focus so much on waiting for an email from someone in particular or trying to come up with the perfect snack idea for my daughter’s Star Day at preschool. Why not focus on some of the things that actually need my attention?

The answer is, simply, that I cannot focus on those big things because I am physically, mentally, and emotionally incapable of dealing with them right now. If I think about the closets that need cleaned, walls that need painted, tile that needs laid…oh, sorry. I think I blacked out for a second there.

So I will continue, at least for the time being, to focus on somewhat meaningless tasks and projects until my backup arrives. This will hopefully come in the form of my older sister who will drive me insane bossing me around for the few days she’s here but will inevitably leave my to-do list quite a bit shorter.  She’s a ‘gitter-doner’ as we’ve affectionately nick-named her. Other people may use terms like bossy or controlling, but we feel our term casts her in a much more positive light. : )

I can’t post any pictures of the projects I’m working on right now because the blogging site is being weird, but I’ll give you updates as I’m able. I’m considering putting a coat of paint on my front door during naptime today since that’s a manageable project and I probably won’t get another 46 degree day for a while. That will need done eventually anyway, right?