I always feel a little melancholy when summer starts to draw to a close.  The heat and humidity have subsided and the crispness of the changing season starts to emerge.  The days start to shorten and the inevitable pull into fall begins.  Prepared or not, it bears down on us and waits for no one.  Maybe that is why time feels like it speeds up every year, because we can’t keep pace with it.  It’s relentless march wears us out and we are let in its wake, wondering where all those years went.

This year, time has taken its toll, and the mess that needs to be cleaned up is the unfinished project list that clutters my mind.  Even though it is not even September, it feels like I am at a crossroads for this year’s list.  Can I plow in and make some headway or throw in the towel and go at it again next year?

Wait a minute!  It is only 2/3 of the way through the year!  Come on, let’s get going!

But isn’t this the “pressure” that paralyzed the situation to begin with?  What is on my list anyway?  Maybe I should start there.  Okay, deep breath . . . move the list from my head to paper, then start to employ an approach that I am at least making some progress.  Pick something and finish it.  It does not matter the size of the job, just complete it.  The weekends are perfect for this.  The weekdays are bonus days.  I would not expect to get a lot done during the week, so the pressure is minimized if I get some things done then.  Once I do this, I think I can maximize my time and reduce the stress by at least finishing something.

There, I feel better now.  I think I am going to celebrate my accomplishment by going to the fair – if I have time.