15 Minutes at a Time

This little post is mainly for me.  I was sitting at the kitchen table this morning recovering from a little stint of spring cleaning out on my patio and having a brief cry.  I was feeling overwhelmed with all there is to do out in my yard and the lack of help now that I am all but an empty nester. Suddenly a thought came to me from my favorite cleaning website www.flylady.net- 'You can do ANYTHING for 15 minutes.'  

I have been following her for over seven years and keeping my house on a schedule with her routine. But it's her 15-minute idea that keeps me going. With my MS progressing over the past seventeen years, I've lost a bit of my energy and  some function in my right leg.  It makes it hard for me to do things I used to whip through, such as vacuuming the whole house, laundry all in one day, or hours out in the yard on a beautiful sunny day. I love to spend hours in my garden but now the 15-minute rule really comes in handy. Although those weeds have a pull that sometimes keep me going longer, and I regret it. I have to literally crawl back to the house.

Today was a hard one.  Spring is here.  I want to get out there.  My coveted raised beds aren't built yet, so I am crawling around on the ground still, wasting more energy. I can't NOT play in the soil.  It is a desire that is strong.  I think I would curl up and die if I couldn't do this, so I grab my walker (just so I can hobble back) and dash out there to do my 15-minutes.  IF I stick to the 15 minutes I won't need the walker too much to get back, maybe to keep from tripping over a worm hill or something.  But, if I stretch it to 30-minutes or more, I may be hanging on to that walker for dear life and taking dragging, baby steps to the house which seems miles away. I will flop on the back porch steps, panting, and wait a good 5 to 10 minutes before I can haul myself into the cool shade of my house to rest before the next burst of energy comes, and I start on another 15-minute project.

Sometimes, the next project doesn't start until the next day.  But if I stick to my 15-minutes, I can do three or four projects in a day.  It's amazing how that works.  Over-do one project and I could be done for, especially if it's in the sun.  But on days like today, when I get really discouraged, I have to stop and think, what have I accomplished.

While I was sitting at the table having my pity party,  I suddenly thought of why I was so tired and what I had accomplished already today.  I had showered, dressed, done my hair, wiped down the bathroom, picked up the laundry, played with the dog, got the kitchen partially re-cleaned up, and had just cleaned up the patio, AND it was only 11 AM.  Amazing for me considering I had only been up for 2 hours (I had slept in--my sweet hubby let me).

So all in all, I'm able to keep going 15 minutes at a time with rests in between.  Everyone and Anyone can do anything they need to do with moderation.  So if you are dealing with any type of issue and think you can't possibly get it done, just remember YOU CAN DO IT--15 minutes at a time!