I was talking with a friend yesterday, discussing my bathroom renovation, and working on my house in general, including this little ‘project’ of loving my home purposefully.  My friend said to me that she has admired that I’ve done what I can, when I can, as I can afford it and when I’ve had time, rather than waiting to do it all when I have enough money/time/help/resources etc.

I was surprised by her comment, as I’ve never thought about how I do things from that perspective.  I’ve been frustrated by the stop/start nature of the majority of my projects, whether progress has been halted by lack of money or time, illness, whatever crops up and suspends production for a time, but I haven’t put off starting a project just waiting for everything to fall into place.  If I did that, nothing would ever get done around here!

We have lived in a perpetual state of in-the-middle-of (some might call it mess) for a couple of years, and that’s kind of become normal for us.  I’ve learned to work around what’s half-finished and in-progress (just ask me how you can still use a bath throughout a bathroom renovation), and when I do finish something, I’m almost surprised to live with something that’s complete.

I haven’t really ever thought that that way of doing things is preferable to waiting until ‘the right time’, let alone admirable, for me it’s just been the only approach I’ve known.  Do what I can, when I can, with what I’ve got, and just keep going until it’s finished. Much like the rest of life, really.  Sometimes it just takes someone else’s point of view to shift our own perspective, and to help us be a little bit kinder to ourselves.