Medicine Man

Have you ever put off a project -- basically forever? Well, the forever part is an exaggeration but I am talking for a long time. Some projects automatically fit in this category. Like clearing the treeline behind the garage of poison ivy. Or raking out the gravel in the parking area. Jobs that are unpleasant or way bigger than you'd like to tackle.

At the other end of the spectrum are projects that are so piddling small they are almost not worth getting the tools out for. Like oiling a squeaky hinge or tacking down a piece of wood trim that only needs one finishing nail but keeps moving when you bump it so you push it back into place and tell yourself, the next time you are in the workshop, you have to get a hammer and nail and actually fix it.

Some projects are obvious. Like the painted trim on the office door is peeling and flaking and needs to be stripped, sanded, primed and repainted. And you walk through the door every day and every day one of the more reasoning voices in your head tells you it must be done.

Have you ever put off a project for a really, really long time and it has been so long that the length of time you haven't done it is suddenly a factor in whether to do it today or not? As in, "Well, I've waited this long. What's a couple of more days . . . or weeks?"

Or has it been put off so long that it has become a running joke around the house? And now you don't want to do it because, Lord knows, you could use all the humour you can get.

Well, I have several of these overdue projects that I have been putting off for an embarrassingly long time and this is the week for them. I have a medicine cabinet for the master bath that I have been putting off hanging for over two years, now. It has been so long that I have to check the date on the back to make sure the oak hasn't passed its "best if used by date." But today is the day. I am going to hang the medicine cabinet!

I also have that office door frame to repaint. I have some wainscoting trim that needs tacked down. I have a wooden door frame for the sliding door onto the deck that needs stained and polyurethaned. I have a bedroom closet that needs reorganized. And this is the week!

All of the excuses are gone. All I have left to do is to pick up the tools and begin . . . the time has come and the mood is right . . . all of the planets have aligned . . . I am ready . . . . . . I wonder what's on Turner Classic Movies today . . .