A few years ago, I posted some humble achievement on FB, and my friend and former workmate, Tim Kruse, commented that, in retirement, we were forced to scale our expectations of achievement back from what they were when we were younger. There is much truth and wisdom in his admonition. I judge my accomplishments very differently now than I did two or more decades ago.
Repairing a damaged deck joist is tantamount to building a new deck. Picking up or repositioning a few flowerpots gives me the same sense of accomplishment that rearranging the entire deck did before. It all reminds me of a poem by Joyce Chisale that she recited on Lawrence O’Donnell’s The Last Word years ago. The tittle of her poem was, “Little by Little.”
Since the deck work was completed last week, I have moved a grouping of pots to the deck’s driveway landing – they each sport sprays of chrysanthemum blooms now. Today, I restored a grouping of pots that provides a ground-level water feature for my nocturnal, four-legged critter friends – racoons, a possum, and foxes. The squirrels and birds will enjoy it during the day. Perhaps tomorrow I will restore a trio of tall pots for Sansevieria in the Northeastern corner of the deck. And then, a day or two later, I can reconstruct the tall water feature for avian pool parties.
I am restoring the deck little by little. Thank you, Tim, and thank you Joyce.
Addendum: For the past 7 years, I have contributed two desks and two, 1-year high school tuitions to UNICEF’s KIND fund so that children in Malawi, especially girls, can get more education. One of each is given in lieu of a holiday present to our son’s parent in-laws.
The road out of poverty is paved in lesson plans and homework; my teachers and parents taught me that, and I want to share that path and its benefits with as many children as I can.