The Piano

The Christmas decorations are tucked away until next year. Isn't always a little surprising how bare the place looks? It didn't seem so plain in November but now I look around and think I need a project or two to liven this place up!

One of the issues is the piano. The Piano. The mother-in-law's piano on which the Mr. learned to play, although not very well. The Mr. was given custody of the piano upon the move to Michigan as there was not enough room to keep it in the apartment. Unfortunately, The Piano still sits in the garage. Recall if you will the mighty mess encountered when we first arrived with the folks in Michigan. That put us into a tailspin from which we've yet to completely recover. The yard never got a proper Autumn clean-up which means Spring time should be rather dreadful. The projects around here slated for this and that lay-off remain on the yet-to-be-done list because much of the Mr.'s "free" time is absorbed with errands and assistance for his parents. And of course there is the ever present finding something else to do when that precious hour without a task finally shows its face. Something other than remodeling the office or cleaning the basement. Or hauling a piano into the house.

Now here we are in January with no sparkling trees to distract us.

Here I am to tell you that it is time. It is the season, if you will, to get back on track. To eat better, to go to Weight Watchers, to move that furniture around to accommodate it and then to haul in The Piano. To figure out just exactly what I want to do with my bedroom and then do it! To organize the office and finish registering for school and get back into The Word. To be...normal (as it applies to us.)

It is time for me to tell the Mr. it's time as well. You see, we're pretty scheduled and organized around here but the Folks...The Folks are...not. Not.

It's not dementia or illness, it's just the way they are and have always been. Grocery shopping today, tomorrow a phone call with the three items they didn't realize they needed, etc. Scheduling doctor's appointments, canceling, rescheduling. Ack. You get the idea. But it's time.

I had to tell Dean that we have to be in control since we are the ones driving this caravan. He gets it.

A lesson to be learned; that the home front comes first. Sometimes the demands of life require lapses here and there but we must quickly recalibrate or the very place from which we recharge will begin to drain us. Unacceptable.

Move the china cabinet into the family room, haul The Piano into the C.S. Lewis room. Clear out the front bedroom and turn it into a bonafide office with a non-schizophrenic filing system. Figure out the mystery that is my bedroom. Reduce the number on the scale. Clean the basement. By the time that's all done, it will be Spring!

The season to plant the garden, clean the yard, hang some flowers, extend the deck, build a privacy fence, install a fire pit...

To everything a season!