I'm Not on Vacation But...

Re-setting expectations when they become difficult to meet

When I launched Writes of Passage I set certain expectations—made certain promises—about how frequently subscribers would hear from me. I’ve successfully met the two-posts-per-month expectation since January. (Patting my own back here.)

But I’m going to be candid. The next post isn’t ready. It’s like a fine New York cheesecake that’s gone into the oven, starting to set, but still far too jiggly in the center to serve. I keep checking the calendar, counting the number of weeks left in the month, hoping I’ll be able to meet the expectations I’ve set.

My anxiety and guilt over this have been rising like bread dough.

I can blame some of my slowness on disruptions, distractions and disorder. No, not the ones all over the news, although those are bad, too. These are more local. Like, in my own house.

Our townhome building was scheduled to be repainted this week. Part of our required preparation was to remove any plant material growing too close to the patio wall, including a palm-like tree that’s outgrown its assigned space. We know our limits and hired help for that. Once the plants and tree were removed we realized our wall needed to be repaired and completely re-stuccoed. Dominoes fell. More workers were hired.

We also had to remove almost everything from the patio. A neighbor is storing our bicycles so there’s room in our garage for the patio furniture. My vast collection of potted succulents is spread throughout half of our 1,1432 square-foot townhome, trying to adjust to air conditioning. The tomatoes growing in 50-gallon bags are frying in the center of the patio. The hummingbirds are freaking out about the daily movement of their feeders.

Because I’m a glutton for punishment, I also migrated to a brand new laptop this week. It was an easy transition. (Thank you cloud storage!) But there are new bells and whistles to test out, a different keyboard to adjust to. Sigh.

That’s why my usual, rich cheesecake isn’t out of the oven yet. But then I got to thinking. “Hey, it’s summer. It’s too hot for cheesecake.”

So here’s a little something short and sweet for you to enjoy instead.

Lemon as a wee pup with her first favorite toy.

What expectations are you having to reset as the summer unfolds?