No partying for me! Okay, well, maybe a little bit — I bought some IPA to celebrate. I finished all of my assignments, mid-term completed and submitted, history test done. I only need to read Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney and familiarize myself with The Associated Press Stylebook by Monday, March 24th. My son’s spring break does not coincide with mine, so I will have the week to myself — little happy dance!
What I will primarily be doing over spring break is sewing a crib set for my new grandson, cleaning my very cluttered and messy bedroom and hopefully painting it, baking bread to put in the freezer, and starting seeds for my vegetable and herb garden. That is actually a lot to do and I am fighting overwhelm.
What is overwhelm? It is a term that I created to describe what happens to an ADHD person (diagnosed in 1994), or any person, who is faced with a task or set of tasks who becomes anxious to the point where they can’t figure out where to begin. Executive and cognitive functioning are greatly reduced; the brain seems to just freeze. The person pretty much shuts down.
It doesn’t help that I am a big to small kind of person. I need to see the entire project with all of its required steps in my mind before I can break it down into manageable tasks. Cognitive damage from Lyme disease destroyed my ability to do this. I get a double whammy when I face pressure to accomplish many things at one time. Now that I think about it, it is almost a miracle that I accomplish anything.
But I shall sew that crib set and mail it off to my daughter-in-law. I will clean my bedroom and, hopefully, get it painted. I will start those seeds, at least some of them. I should be able to get some baking done. My list is actually much longer than this but I will only consider those additional tasks once the big four are completed or I could get lost.
Did I mention that it isn’t spring here yet? No matter. I will allow myself a little time to relax and go out with my camera at least once to capture the last signs of winter in Connecticut as the Connecticut River and Moodus Reservoir are particularly lovely as they transition to spring.
Celebrating time off (sort of)! Have a great weekend, everyone.
Indian Paintbrush in Austin, Texas – Spring 2009. Copyright 2009 by Michele Haynes. All rights reserved.
Serendipity: Life is a Garden 