"On Projects--Unfinished and Completed"

project:  n.  A planned endeavor, usually with a specific goal and accomplished in several steps or stages.

The rocking chair has been a part of my interior landscape since my first grandchild was very small. For me, rocking her was an important part of being Nana, and it was purchased with that specific purpose in mind. She is now nineteen, and all five of my grandgirls have been held and rocked in that chair. It is one of the first places I go to after waking up in the morning.

The navy upholstery became a dated eyesore and didn’t match my red couch, so I bought some gorgeous fabric with reds and golds in it.  The intent was to reupholster the cushions.  I made it as far as the seat cushion.  I have draped the remaining fabric over the back cushion, but the project is still not completed.

Then there was the decision made several years ago to update my bathroom, top to bottom.  The paneling work on the ceiling is beautiful, and I had spent hour upon hour creating a mirror-like finish on the paint job. The tile backsplash is unique, the heated tile floors lend a sense of luxury, the sink and its fixture modern and attractive, the color choice for the wall perfect.

The cabinet for the sink was made in the 70’s of high quality materials, and I chose to not replace it but to strip the old paint off and repaint it. And that is where I stopped. The paint is stored in the garage, dated and useless by now, I’m quite certain, and the cabinet stands bare in its stripped, unpainted state. I am one step away from finishing it.

Organizing my household has been a project on my to-do list for years.  Spurts of motivation come and go so areas, corners of my home are pristine, in order but never the whole. The task is never fully done.

Yesterday, around 10:00 in the morning, I found myself needing—not wanting—but needing a nap, even after a good night's rest.  Lying down in my go-to place, a double recliner that fully reclines, covered up with a favorite blanket, I told my Father: “I am spent.  There’s nothing left in me.  I am done, completely drained and exhausted.” This lament had nothing to do with a need for physical rest but was directly connected to the submission just that morning of a manuscript to a publishing company. I felt as though I had been emptied. 

Projects often begin with a single thought or suggestion, and they either develop from there, or they disappear with the wind. 

“The writing” began with one single thought placed by a friend years ago; the idea of writing a blog the result of encouragement from other friends and former classmates.  I cannot tell you when the consideration to compile those entries into a book entered my mind, but at some point it did.

Early yesterday morning was the culmination of that project as I sent the manuscript, the submission form, and copies of the images to be used to Flo, the contact person assigned to work with me as I self-publish.

There is no way to convey the amount of time spent not only poring over the words but before God with the quest for clarity of message and a final product which will point to Him and not self.

He gave me an illustrator who captured the message and the spirit of the writing in a manner that is touching. He gave me an editor who refused to settle for less than excellence at a point in time when I had stopped caring.  Just when I thought I was finished, she said, “This needs a bit more work.” I could not disagree.

While driving later in the day yesterday, I was thinking about the fact that I, who have a habit of unfinished, incomplete projects, had finished and completed a book. My editor’s comment, “God is” describes it perfectly. 

“Tidbits and Pearls—A Book of Essays on Living Everyday Life with God” has been His project, at His hand and His alone. I would not want it any other way.

I awakened from my mid-morning nap rested and ready to tackle Volume II after the first of the year. When I told a friend, her comment said it well: “That’s like wanting to have another baby while you’re still in the delivery room.”  Apparently there is more to be said. 

I think I'll take my rocking chair cushions to an upholsterer and hire someone to paint my bathroom cabinet. I doubt it would take a professional more than a couple of hours. Organizing my home--That's another story, but I'm not giving up.