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This month, older women have prepared for the onslaught of winter probably since time began. We know dark days and deprivation are coming. We can feel it in our bones even now as our climate is changing. There’s a lot to get done and little time left before daylight dwindles, winds whip and temperatures tumble. Unlike the busy time of spring, we don’t have better days ahead of us to get all the measures finished. The tasks seem endless.
For me, I know this time has come when from my closet I instinctively grab flannel sheets. Then the urge to wash the mattress cover and my chenille bedspread seizes me like the need – the absolute need for a hot, strong, black cup of coffee – first thing in the morning. When I make my bed, I add my comforter and electric blanket, knowing I will now be cozy and warm in the months ahead.
From that point on, I know for the next couple of week I will be in a frenzy trying to get everything done. As a household of one adult, a dog and a cat, the work that needs to be done is overwhelming. It’s times like these when I am tempted to question my decision to live alone in a house with a yard. I knew it would be more work than an apartment, condo, or a “lock and leave house.” Of course, I can always re-evaluate this decision as I age. Many ladies-of-a-certain-age do not have the luxury of carefully analyzing where they will live as I did when I decided to divorce my husband of many years. They are dealing with the death or serious illness of a spouse, divorce, retirement, or their own health or financial issues.
At this age, I have found it beneficial to make a “to-do list” and then see where help would be useful. I hope my “to-do list” is helpful to you no matter what your situation is. It might even help you make a decision about where you want to live.
Believe me, I have found these services invaluable:
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning companies – I’m not about to climb up on my roof and cover my evaporative “swamp” cooler and drain the lines. I don’t know how – and I don’t want to know – to check my furnace and make sure it is safe to run. I hire a plumber to do these things for me and ask him (I have never met a female plumber) to check my gas fireplace and hot water heater, too. I do know how to change furnace filters.
Lawn maintenance companies – My service takes care of all the fallen leaves, does a final mow, blows out the sprinkler system and even gets on my roof to clean out the gutters.
“Handymen” – This time of year, the handyman changes out the screens on the doors and puts in the glass inserts. He moves the heavy patio furniture to the garage, adds weather-stripping to any doors that need it, and helps me wash windows. (I am so lucky to have cheap irrigation water. But, it is not clean and splatters dirt.)
Car mechanics – There’s all sorts of things to do to make sure my car will operate safely in the upcoming cold and winter weather (if we have any this year, that is.) Such things as antifreeze, tires and windshield wipers have to be checked.
Coordinating all of these services takes time. In addition, my hours are consumed by harvesting vegetables before the frost comes, drying and stripping herbs, cleaning up vegetable gardens, chopping down sunflower stalks, removing the hummingbird feeder, plugging in the birdbath, and adding suit cakes to the bird feeding station. Of course, I do a lot of cooking and freezing. I so appreciate my little frozen bags of delicious and wholesome dinners full of veggies from my garden in January and February.
To boot, I clean out my closet. Yes, I even vacuum the carpet. I fill donation sacks with clothes and deliver them to my favorite charity.
Finally, I have to adjust my daily schedule. I play pickleball and walk the dog later in the day because it is not so hot outside. To avoid driving in the dark, I take a morning yoga class instead of the late afternoon one.
Oh, one more thing, life is too short not to take the time to drive to the mountains to see the glorious golden aspen leaves.
Copyright – Elizabeth J. Wheeler, October 12, 2019
5 Comments
October 13, 2019 at 2:18 pm
Love this!!!! Enjoy your writing. Can’t wait for book! Miss you and Bonnie
November 6, 2019 at 8:48 pm
Oh, Lori – We miss you, too! Bonnie is in the book!! She might even be on the cover. Wish you were here.
October 13, 2019 at 2:52 pm
I would add to my own to-do list for the changing season that I look forward to Elizabeth’s blog! I found reading your collection of activities both impressive and inspiring. Thanks!
October 13, 2019 at 9:22 pm
This month’s blog really resonates with me. Never enough time to do whatever it is to thoroughly accomplish, finish what is before me. A friend told me that she had learned to accept that whatever is, is good enough. I am not to that point; I am still struggling to make things better, to reach further. Someday I will also have to come into that acceptance.
November 6, 2019 at 9:00 pm
I’m with you girlfriend. Seems like my “to-do” list is as long as ever. But, I sure do enjoy freshly laundered flannel sheets! I bet you are busy this time of year. Still gardening? It is lovely here on the Western Slope. In GJ we have had only a “dusting of snow.”