27 May 2013

Start to Finish

Whew! That was weird. I just came back from an orbit. I was lost in space, couldn't find my bearings. I knew what had to get done, but had no pathway to get where I needed to start.

In hindsight, 4 trips in March/April/May (5 days at Cues and Tattoos in Seattle, 10 days at GS/TT in Michigan and 8 days in Pura in Barcelona, 5 days at Tribal Fest in Sebastopol) wasn't such a good idea, especially when I'm trying to produce Devotion in June and keep you all posted on the progress after such a phenomenal KickStarter response.

So what happened was...I was talking to my Mom yesterday. We meet every Sunday afternoon when I'm in town. We have tea. I do whatever tasks she has lined up (yesterday was setting up a wireless connection - oh, the ethernet cable goes in the slot marked with a circle, not with an arrow - got it.) And we talk. We talk about all sorts of things. My Mother, Bess, is a retired librarian. She is really smart and interested in everything. She is able to carry on a conversation about almost anything if you give her a little info. She is 88 years old, an avid birdwatcher, walks every day and can take the SamTrans bus anywhere on the planet. Mom is full of enthusiasm and positivity, but can also lob a mean reality check (watch our Warren Buffet, she is not happy with your decision to mine coal in Montana.) But sometimes she just sits and listens.

Since we haven't seen each other much in the past months, there was a lot to catch up on. I found myself on a rant, trying to make sense of the fact that I was orbiting and couldn't land on the path of logic that is the balm for Capricorns. After practically going hoarse from monopolizing the conversation I finally paused long enough for her to say, "What are you going to learn about iMovie when you go to the Apple Store tomorrow?" I replied, "I want them to show me how to take some lecture footage that I've loaded into the program and walk me through the creation of a simple project from start to finish." BING!

After a few more minutes I told her that I had projects waiting at home and had to go. I drove home along Skyline Blvd, a strange semi-rural ridge that separates Daly City from South San Francisco which is shrouded in fog 90% of the time, it's also a great place to think. The phrase start to finish kept running through my mind. When I got home the house was empty because Loretta is house-sitting for a few weeks. As much as I love to come home to her company, the cat, dinner preparations and more chatting, I really needed an evening of total solitude. I sat down at the computer and completed the projects from start to finish. It was as if I had been released from the orbit and had landed back in the land of logic. I woke this morning to a renewed sense of Capricorn. I drank tea, knit for a bit while I watched a knitting video (check out Craftsy.com if the mention of knitting video makes your heart race.) I felt my brain start to focus, reached for my notebook, made a plan for the day and am here with you right now.

So that's it. You are now deputized, in the reading of this blog post, to say to me Start to Finish anytime I fail to post or complain about being too busy. I also added a Follow By Email gadget so you cane be notified when I post, which should be frequently. Please sign up and let me know, via comments, that you are out there. Tomorrow's post will be the journey of the Devotion project that I promised you back in February.

10 comments:

Alicia Foodycat said...

Your mother sounds amazing. Bessie was the dog we had when I was little (which I am pretty sure you understand is a total compliment to wisdom and kindness!)

This was also a good reminder for me. I have been procrastinating terribly! Off to FINISH some projects.

Janet Hanseth said...

Love this!

Herbatka said...

I'm here, reading everything you post, keeping my fingers crossed for you and your plans. I use a Blogger reader to keep me up-to-date with your blog, it works pretty well.
Hugs
Beata M.(Poland)

Mareike said...

Thank you for posting

Kvoth said...

I travel frequently for my work too, and have been for years. As an introvert, I find travel difficult. I love the people I meet and the places that I go, but I'm so tired from it all when I get home, that it can take me quite awhile for my soul to catch up. I read a book called "Quiet" that gave me some good insights on managing it for myself, but really, I think time with the people who love you and know you best is the very best cure. Hooray for having a mom like yours!

famousfeline said...

Oh, God. Talk about a reality check with this one. Yes. Start to Finish. Start. To. Finish.

PS: It's really good to see you blogging again!

Unknown said...

I read a book by Eckehard Tolle..he mentioned that not you controlling your brain, it' s exactly the opposite. so whenever I start running around loosing the red ribbon, the path, the line ..I remember to say stop and focus again.And Yes sometimes the right words at the perfect moment can arrange things back to the natural flow. Blessings

Joanna Ashleigh said...

I'm here reading every post too.

My last three months involved Cues and Tattoos, Elevation (I'll see you there next year I hear), a trip to Omaha to see my mum, a weekend in San Fran (I happily got to drop by FCBD studio for a moment and peruse the goodies), Tribal Fest and then a surprise weekend in Portland thanks to my husband. Point being I didn't spend a single Sat or Sun night in my own bed in May and have been feeling similar to what you wrote out. Start to Finish. I like it. Thank You. <3.

Vicky said...

Oh, did I need this! And I know another dancer & friend who needs to read this as well. We are both small business owners, struggling to keep everything in order & our heads above water. Lost in orbit, trying to figure out where to land & how, & where to go from there. (And we are both Capricorns. Coincidence?) You've brought forth the realization that has been right in front of me all along: My soul gets lost in chaos when too many things go unfinished at once. And lately, everything has been up in the air, unfinished. And it all needed to be finished a year ago. Start to finish. I love that. I can't fit all the pieces of a puzzle together at the same time. I have to do it one piece at a time, start to finish. I'll be focusing on finishing at least one task per week, until the chaos is cleared & my soul has calmed. Thank you so much for your wisdom, Carolena! I look forward to hearing more, and learning all about your latest adventures! (And yes, Craftsy is wonderful! As is Ravelry!)

Kathrina said...

Yes you really travelled a LOT and I am grateful that you share your time with us.
Now start to finish whatever your plans and projects are! I wish you good luck, lots of energy and succesful conclusion!

Best regards from germany
Katharina