PREPARATION

Here at Thursday's Child we're preparing for a large home maintenance project--painting the interior of the house.

Not all the rooms--just the ones that form the major portion of the front of the house, what you might call public rooms, if this were a place where a lot of folks gather.

Since we're not a gathering place, nor a public place, we are concentrating on these rooms because they get the most use and often the most abuse. (I hasten to add that we aren't wild-and-woolly folks; just that, well, you know, paint gets chipped here and there, and so on.)

Anyway! In order to get all this done in one week (my daughter's vacation), we have to look ahead, assess the situation, and--PREPARE.

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So while I'm "helping" prepare for the big event, I'm letting my mind slide off to the side to see if there might be a topic for a blog post. Sure enough, such a topic walked right in, sat right down, put its feet up, and said, here I am. Let's talk.

I'll give you the gist--the actual conversation would take too long to tell, you understand.

After a lot of rag-chewing, I could discern four distinct types of preparation:

1. Easy-Peasy
2. Middlin' Effort
3. Mucho Effort
4. Is-It-Worth-It Effort

The following are my own thoughts on these four categories.

Easy-Peasy - I think we've all done this one. Somebody says, "Why don't we---?" and folks chime in, "Yes, why don't we?" And in no time, a picnic is arranged, food appears (quick-marts are excellent for this purpose), and somebody drags out a moth-eaten, dusty blanket. "It's picnic time!"

I can recall a few times when my kids were young that we entered into spontaneous events. At the time, money was in short supply, so anything we could do at home, using no money and not much energy, worked great. Summer was especially good--since we had no swimming pool, we set up a sprinkler for cooling off in. A wading pool worked also (until it sprung a leak).

In my current stage of life (advanced, let us say), I can stave off a desire to go to the library by searching through the four (or is it five?) bookshelves for something to read. I used to be ashamed to say I have books bought but never read; but I'm no longer ashamed of that. Just like having my own book store! And the reason for not going out to the public library is that I'm too tired, or the weather's turned cold/rainy/windy or hot/humid/breathless. Why subject myself to that when I can browse resident bookshelves?

Middlin' Effort - As you might surmise, this kind of prep takes a little thought, some planning, perhaps; maybe even (gasp!) list making! Not a lot, not a lot. Just enough to keep the wagon on the road, so to speak.

I think of Middlin' Effort as preparing for lunch with a friend here at my house. Or afternoon tea, with only a couple of treats to go with the wide selection of teas to be had. The actual main event is visiting with my friend. No effort there, just enjoyment.

Mucho Effort - We probably all recognize this one--Thanksgiving Dinner, Christmas Eve Supper, special birthday party, anniversary/graduation/engagement/etc. event.

Our Mucho Effort event--now many years ago--was the tree-trimming party on Dec. 23rd. Not a lot of people invited--just three couples plus our family of six. One family had a child who came. We lived in the country, in an old farm house that had ten-foot ceilings, so it accommodated a really tall tree. You're probably envisioning a sweep of large rooms, lovely furnishings, a fireplace with yule logs ablaze. Sorry--not even close. The rooms were good- sized, but the furnishings had been through four kids, multiple dogs and cats, and were mostly hand-me-downs to start with. No fireplace, ablaze or otherwise. But there was a very nice bow window where the tree stood. And by the end of the evening, the lights twinkled, icicles reflected the light, presents under the tree had been opened and shared . . . .

Before the tree trimming itself, we'd had a "fondue dinner"--beef fondue (tenderloin tidbits cooked in hot oil, over a candle burning under the pot) and cheese fondue (chunks of French bread speared and dipped in melted cheese kept hot in another pot). Red or white wine to drink. Salad served after the main meal. Dessert (one of our guests was an excellent cook; every year he brought a dozen kinds of holiday cookies and special fruit cake, all of which he made)--and we ate those with coffee while the decorating progressed.

Lots of work? Sure, it was. And worth it. Which segues nicely into the next category....

Is-It-Worth-It Effort - This is a hard one to write about. This is some levels below the Easy-Peasy Effort category, but in other ways, it's 'way beyond Mucho Effort.

And here's why it's hard to write about. If I decide something is hardly worth the effort, I'm basing that on my own energy, my own interest, the possible outcome (good or bad), and whether I think I even want to attempt something that might not make me happy I did it.

An example of this was my continuing college education. Took 10 years, but I finally did it. There were many days when I was ready, far beyond willing, to give up. What difference did it make, if I finished my degree? Was I going to use it for a career? 

This kind of situation ends up being one long (and boring to other folks) dialogue with oneself about the merits--Do I or don't I? Who will care? Will I wish I'd gone on? You get the picture.

In the case of my college education, I did make the effort, convincing myself that it was a goal I'd set a long time before, for no good reason I could name; it was just the right thing to do.

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If you made it this far, I hope you began thinking about your own life events. 

I know I'll enjoy the newly painted walls in my house. And in a while, I'll forget that I spent so many hours sorting and storing and even (believe it or not) getting rid of some things. (Recycling is a wonderful thing. So is the library's shredding service.)

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Lots of things are worth the effort--taking care of each other, spending time with friends, writing letters and notes, teaching children about their families. You can name a bunch more.

Blessings,

Thursday's Child