Monday, March 10, 2014

The Art of Being Busy

Snow is finally melting and I am doing OK.

My life used to be extremely busy, but I didn't notice because that was just the way it was.  The treadmill of my life was constantly on.  There was always something I had to do, someone that I had to assist, and places I had to be.  Then I retired to do with time as I wanted and I did not do well for quite awhile.  I have slowly adjusted and accepted life as it is because that just is the way that it is.  I do socialize quite a bit as I am very fortunate to have good friends and a wonderful family   I also found a volunteer job where I am needed but it is only for a day a week which leaves 6 other days to fill with busy work. That is easy to do in the spring and summer as there is much outside that I enjoy doing or visiting.  The winter, though, does drag on. Last week I found myself washing my walls.  I started by wiping a spot by an electrical outlet,  but then I noticed more that needed my attention and three hours later I had completely cleaned most of the walls on one floor of my home.  Yes, I know what you are thinking.  "Arleen has gone over the edge."  You may be right.   "Busy work" is not fun and not satisfying and Lordy, Lordy, I should be able to think of more interesting things to do with my time.  However, looking at a You Tube the other day, I realized that there are so many other people out there who also seem to have time on their hands.





Washing a wall gives you a clean wall, but who cares.  Making people laugh by doing silly things is much more productive.  

Next week I may start training my cats to do something funny and maybe will enlist hubby. I'll see what they do with an aluminium foil ball. Video to follow.

48 comments:

  1. Um...my grandkids did that thing with the door stop...I tried it...it's kind of fun. Um.....

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    1. I must have missed the door stop when cleaning the walls. I just might have stopped there.

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  2. ha ha I will wait for that video !
    You did make me smile :)))

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  3. Hello Arleen:

    Now, we are not suggesting what you should do but we do advise against washing the walls, or at least only very, very rarely. Brought up, most likely as yourself, with the work ethic, we have finally come to accept that to read a novel, or listen to music, or play a game, etc. etc. in the daytime is NOT a crime and can be a very enjoyable way of allowing hours, days, and even months, to pass.

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    1. Dear Jane and Lance,

      It is very hard for me to sit still. I get very antsy or fall asleep when I try to get comfy on a couch in the winter. However, I do love to read and listen to music, but it is usually when I am outside in good weather and enjoying the beautiful nature that surrounds me.

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  4. Ha ha, I am retired too, and have not washed all our walls. Too busy. I exercise 3 times a week in a pool, are you interested in doing that? I like it, so I stick with it, since 1999 when I was still working. Have a fun day.

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    1. I took up jogging which was really fast walking a few years ago and enjoyed it. However, lately my knees are giving me trouble so I have curtailed my exercising. Oh, how I hate this growing old stuff. Getting in the water would probably help these old bones though.

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  5. Very funny. I think it would be wonderful to have a cat day. Great for when you don't want to talk to certain people. I'll put it on my to do list. I volunteer with three organisations. One I am not enjoying so it will be dropped. The other two are keeping me busy as you will see from my post today. I miss being needed so I might stretch to volunteering at the senior's home.

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    1. Yes, I need to be needed also. Besides working at the community center, I do fill in for other volunteers when they can not be there, and also help my daughter out when she needs someone to watch my grandchildren. Volunteering is so rewarding, but sometimes it is not a good fit. We have to find something that fulfills us and if it doesn't, it is time to move on.

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  6. I don't feel the urge to scrub walls, ceilings, and woodwork nearly as often as I used to. Now, if I DO feel the urge, I generally wait a few minutes until the feeling passes. Not that I want to live in a place that's in danger of being condemned by the health department, mind you, but I decided that when I shuffle off to that big ol' library in the sky, I don't want people to shake their heads sadly, and say, "She sure kept a clean house..." (Not much danger of that now!) Who ever wanted to eat off my kitchen floor, anyway? Other than my cats... and they like to dirty it while I'm still on my knees scrubbing it.

    While you're doing the aluminum ball thing with the cats, try a wad of masking tape, sticky side out, of course. Very entertaining, and much more fun than scrubbing a wall.

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    1. I have to say that I was doing it because company was coming and therefore wanted the house cleaner than usual. However, I went too far. Now though, I don't have to do it for a few more years or maybe never.

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  7. I am just the opposite in that I have no problem at all sitting all day and watching time go by. Okay, I exaggerate but I do sit a lot it seems and so I always look at people such as yourself with a bit of awe, like in how does she do it?

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    1. If I sit, I think. I don't want to think as it is bad for my disposition.

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  8. I don't know how I found TIME to go to work. And there is always rather a lot of domestic stuff (including wall washing) that I don't get to. Sigh. And laughter is always a gift - thank you for this morning's smiles.

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    1. I think I got more things done when I worked and had to fit everything in between. Now things don't seem as important anymore.

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  9. I have a few dusty walls that may need your attention. You must've had quite a workout with those walls. It's nice that you're doing volunteer work. Very cute video! Hope it warms up soon, so that you could move your cleaning to your backyard!

    Julie

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    1. I'd love to help you out, Julie, but I have come to my senses and washing walls is no longer a job that I think needs to be done. I am embracing the song, Let It Go. Next month at this time I will be scrubbing my patio furniture - or maybe I will just hit it with a hose.

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  10. I think clean walls are very nice and I could look at them all day if I had time. Have to tell you this little story. I was weeding the front borders today and Fadgy my eldest cat brought a mouse to show me. She was so proud of herself and looking up for praise. The other naughty little cat crept up and stole it as quick a wink. Poor old Fadgy was looking round quite bewildered - she was sure she'd caught a mouse somewhere?

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    1. I love that story, Molly. The lesson being is to never dote too long on your accomplishments because there is always someone nearby who can steal the prize.

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  11. Too funny, Arleen! Yep....never wipe a spot off the wall...unless you're ready and willing for the inevitable. That caught me once. Now I walk by and think,"yeah, that'll be there tomorrow, as will a few more here and there". Life is too short; plus, after 50 years of mundane housework that never goes away, enough is enough. So.....I knit and spin wool like a mad woman! Have a great week; can't wait to see the cat/aluminum foil video!

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    1. Mundane is the word, Linda, and if I wasn't imprisoned by this awful snow this year, I would have been out of the house and never would have seen that spot on the wall.

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  12. Ah, yes, cleaning house twice a year. One of the reasons I left home at a young age.

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    1. We should all go back to living in caves, it was so much easier then.

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  13. I have retired with a woman who shares your strange enthusiasm for cleanliness, and pronounce you both sane.

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  14. Clean walls are a good thing and you must have gotten some arm exercise from cleaning them. My days seem to fly by and at the end of each, I find I really haven't done much. But as you so wisely said above: It is the way it is these days. And happiness abounds here, so all is well. A great post.

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  15. It is a big transition and quite hard to accept that we have time to please ourselves now, sit and read a book, go for a walk or a swim with no-one to answer to. I'm busy decluttering and organising - doing a life edit. It passes the time and I feel good when things work more smoothly. I might even get around to getting the cobwebs down when the mood takes me. Time to enjoy the art of just being.

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  16. I laughed till I cried at that video. It is just so funny! thanks for posting it. I'm going to check out other stuff he's done.

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    1. If you have cats, you know that these crazy guys have them down pat. I am glad you enjoyed it, Jenny.

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  17. You are going to "train your cats" to do something funny. Heh! I will be back to study your methods.

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  18. The cats will probably be too busy with the doorstop, so it will probably just be my husband. He likes tin foil balls also.

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  19. I refuse to feel guilty! I refuse to look at my walls! And I refuse to wash my walls! So there! ;)

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    1. It was a first in a lifetime, Lee, and it is a one and done. This is the worst winter I can remember, and it it messing with my mind. I promise never to wash my walls again.

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  20. Cats do it better.

    Nothing wrong with washing walls, unless you postponed doing something that would have been more fun.

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  21. I wish I had a cat lol, washing walls, yep been, there, some days are sooo long,

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  22. Dear Arleen, thank you so much for sharing that human-as-cat video. It was a hoot and I sat here laughing because seeing a human do the things done daily by the three cats with whom I live really puts into perspective how well they've trained me.

    Like you, I've had a hard time really retiring. I'm still--13 years after starting Social Security--trying to get my arms around simply "being." Good luck with that. And washing the walls can be, my friend, an art form! Peace.

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  23. Oh that video is SO funny!!

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  24. Boy can I relate to this post. At least you were productive and now have a clean house. I wasted too many days this winter wish I could redo those days.
    Thanks for sharing this funny video I will be waiting on yours.
    Appreciate you coming by and leaving me a sweet comment. Reminds me of how much I miss my blogging buddies.
    Love
    Maggie

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  25. Good grief, Arleen! From waning walls to getting catty with us. What next?

    Blessings and Bear hugs!

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  26. Oh Arleen, I have been known to begin cleaning a spot on a wall only to end up at the paint store purchasing paint and painting....yes there is a wall awaiting my attention as I type.

    Thank you so much for you kind comments. You made my day! I have been told I can be bit of a Pollyanna. Finding the positive and humor in life is my drug of choice. Happy Spring! Bonnie

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  27. I'm enjoying not being busy. My work life was meetings and more meeting and I am delighted to have few appointments. I keep busy, but it's on my schedule and I really enjoy that. I figure if I'm bored in New York City I just need to step outside, get on a bus and do some museum visiting.

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  28. Hi Arleen,

    Sorry for the lengthy delay in commenting. I actually find that doing mundane things stimulates my last two brain cells. Evidently, keeping busy in therapeutic. Actually, to hell with the therapy. I shall just stare at the four walls.

    That video has made me want to go out and crap in my vegetable patch. Hey, if it's okay for a cat....

    Look after yourself, Arleen.

    Gary :)

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  29. That vid was hilarious! I totally cracked up when he was rolling in the bag! My cats loved doing that. (What's up with the attraction to bags and boxes??) I hope spring comes soon for you and you can fill your time with pleasant things...and I'm waiting for your cat vid! lol

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  30. Being a full time Caregiver now and Retired from the Corporate Lives I used to have I find a certain comfort and rest in the doing of more mundane and less stressful tasks. So I do them more as a form of therapy for my mind and soul than due to boredom. My G-Kids profess to get bored so easily and once they asked me what I do when I am bored? Upon contemplation I realized that I don't actually recall a bored moment in my life, whether that is an anomaly or just perception I don't know, but I always find Purpose in whatever I'm doing so even restful inactive times are totally cherished! The comments about the video have me smiling tho' even if I haven't watched it due to my uber slow computer! *Smiles* Blessings and Thank You for dropping by for a Blog visit during our Family's difficult time... Dawn... The Bohemian

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