53 Days to Spring

As we neared the end of Christmas break last week, I was having a really hard time staying positive.  Matt had 3 weeks off school and only had to work 3 of the 17 days the boys were off school (this is the most time he's had off around Christmas since we've had kids).  It was wonderful after all the stress of getting him through his first semester of school, along with sports for our 10 year old and the start of full-time school for our 5 year old.  I didn't realize how much I was really holding onto Christmas and Christmas break to get me through the fall.  Until it was all over.

Staring down at January not only meant the cold and dark that I dread every year but also Luke's wrestling would be in full force, Matt would be back to school, he would be starting clinicals on what had been his 2 days off to do schoolwork, and it would be MONTHS until there was any sort of break (in fact, it's more than 6 months away until Matt & the boys are all off school at the same time again...and then after that it won't be again until Matt's done in December).  

It was looking REALLY hard to stay positive.  I love Christmastime and look forward to it all year and the thought of having to pack it all up was just another thing I didn't want to think about.  Any sort of relief felt very far off with little to look forward to.  Plus, winter is just so dang dark and cold.  

So I counted the days until March 1st, when I declare spring has started (I do not care if anyone else agrees with me...March 1st is the first day of spring for me).  It was 53 days from when the boys and Matt went back to school until the start of spring.  Wrestling won't be done then but close to it and everyone is still in school but the thought of just some warmth, more sunlight, flowers blooming...that feels like something I can look forward to.  

In order to keep myself distracted and busy for those 53 days I decided to make a project list.  53 little nagging tasks to get done, one for each day (even if that's not how they happen).  Some of this might be overlap with my 24 in 2024 list (which I have yet to complete) but more it's just little tasks that I notice and think "I should take care of that..." and then I don't.  I never realize how much time CHRISTMAS takes in my schedule until it's all done and I'm not at school constantly or planning a class party or anything.  So this will help fill that void (along with maybe more reading and puzzles).  Productivity or completing a project can usually help me turn a sad mood around so having a pre-figured out list to keep me busy should help.  And if not, at least I will have gotten a lot of little things done!  

1. Clean under the buffet - dust bunnies galore
2. Tape down my office rug - it doesn't like to stay straight
3. Get rid of the coffee and end table that have been on our porch for...8 months
4. Get rid of rocking horse from the basement (this one has been done!)
5. Clean under the tv stand - again, the dust bunnies
6. Clean inside the tv stand
7. Tape down the upstairs landing rug - it NEVER stays in place
8. Clean sharpie off porch walls - this is more of an attempt...I don't know if it'll work
9. Reorganize the game cupboard - maybe the biggest project on this list...need to shuffle things around to account for new games.
10. Hang Valentine's Day hearts in windows - I've been doing this many year, using the same hearts!  (they are very faded).
11. Clean out my clothes closet
12. Clean out my dresser clothes
13. Do a Lego set (I might have a backlog of sets to do).
14. Enter winter book list - our library switched systems last fall and I had to screenshot all my saved book lists in their old app.  I only entered the Christmas lists because that's what I was checking out when the app went back up.  I need to catch up the rest.
15. Enter spring book list
16. Enter summer book list
17. Enter fall book list
18. Fix Google Analytics - they upgraded this last year and I never fixed mine
19. Clean mealy bugs off my pothos - I successfully did this with one plant in December, need to do the other!
20. Paint touchups in the stairs
21. Catch up file box 
22. Clean out file folders in file cabinet
23. Book our family camping trip
24. Book an early summer camping trip (did this!)
25. Book a late summer camping trip
26. Clean up box stash in the basement - started this after we were done wrapping for Christmas but need to clean it up some more
27. Transplant snake plant - it's mostly dead, I need to transplant the one live part
28. Dust behind our bed - I can see it with the gap in our headboard/mattress but need to do something about it because it's awkward to get to
29. Make another snowflake for a window - I have the window mostly filled but there is one gap left
30. Do Chicago pages in Luke's photobook - I have the boys' photobooks caught up through November except for our 2023 trips.
    
31. Do Cuyahoga pages in Luke's photobook
32. Do Cocoa Beach pages in Luke's photobook
33. Do Chicago pages in Sam's photobook
34. Do Cuyahoga pages in Sam's photobook
35. Do Cocoa Beach pages in Sam's photobook
36. Finish Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with Luke - we started this in maybe November.  It's a LONG book!
37. Sweep under the stove - you may think your house is fairly clean until you move a large kitchen appliance
38. Fill planter Dad made for Christmas
39. Replace plant on the kitchen counter - the one there died recently
40. Reset Speedway PIN - I have a lot of Speedy points I could be using for free frozen cokes (when I get them) but I don't know the PIN.
41. Plan boys' birthday party (although March is a BUSY month)
42. Buy some frames - a small part of a 24 in 2024 project, a starting step!
43. Pick some prints for said frames
44. Hit 100 things decluttered - although, if I'm going to hit 1000 again this year I should be more like 160, 2 months in...
45. Consolidate candles - I burn the same candle all Christmas season, have for year, so in January I combine all the unburnt parts and make a bonus candle.  
46. Log book quotes on Goodreads - I usually take a picture of a good line with my phone and let that languish on my computer forever, need to catch these up
47. Bake kool-aid cookies - before Lent starts!
48. clean kitchen picture ledges - not a place I dust regularly
49. photograph some of the boys' art - I am so behind on this project, I need to commit to working on it if I really want to do it!
50. Finish a puzzle - it'll probably be closer to at least 3...
51. Buy a plant that would stay alive in a windowless bathroom - does such a thing exist??
52. Buy a bouquet of flowers
53. Plan something for summer

Is this list very random?  Yes, it is.  It's a "I wrote things down in the order they occurred to me".  But I am excited to check a lot of these items off the long suffering and never completed "little things that I should just do" mental list?  Yes.  And I will take any enthusiasm for nearly anything right now!  Spring is just about 50 days away!