Messy

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on April 7, 2026 in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

April 6, 2026- Babies can be messy. They need to be bathed, have their diapers changed, undersides cleaned, faces washed and mouths rinsed with pre-dental solution.

Children can be messy. They need to be taught to take their shoes or boots off, when entering a house, or wipe their feet, when entering a public place. They need to be trained to wipe themselves after using a toilet, and wash their hands afterward, then dry them with a cloth or paper towel. They need to be shown how to make their beds and clean their rooms, putting things back where they found them.

Teenagers can be messy. They need to be held to account and actively encouraged to slow down and be present in a situation. They know how to focus on others; they do so with their friends, all the time. Extend that focus to people older and younger than themselves.

Families can be messy. Patience and communication are the cleaning agents. So is reflection-remembering when one was in the same position as the one who made the mess, or looking ahead to when one will be in the same position. The child will become an adult, and very well may be a parent. The parent may very well become a grandparent. The grandparent must never forget what it was like to be a baby, a child, a teenager, a parent.

Communities, and organizations, can be messy. Patience, and communication, are even more essential here, even as they become more complex. Technology can help, and it can also hinder; the way in which it is used determines which will be the case. The viewpoints of leaders, and members, will decide how tools, including technology, are used.

Life is messy; it can only be cleaned by those living it.

Clean-up

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on July 1, 2024 in Assistance, collaborating, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 1, 2024, Woburn, MA- Mom was meticulous, in her prime. While some of that fastidiousness faded, as she entered her tenth decade, we, her adult children kept the faith and would serve her needs, as much as she would let anyone serve. So it was, today.

The day had periods of rain and wind, which complicated the process-just a bit. There was also the energy of serendipity: Several things happening in a small space, at the same time. I got a little bit irritated, not at family members, but at random people with competing agendas. I got past that irritation, and somehow, we got furniture, keepsakes, clothing-to-be-donated and several bags of trash out of the room and to their respective destinations, in a matter of three or four hours.

Among the keepsakes are a rolled up photograph of your truly, protected in a scroll. This will be my “personal item” on the flight back to Phoenix. There is also a photo of my maternal grandfather, who I never met in the flesh, but who some say I resemble. That will take its place on the mantle in my living room. There are other photos and journals that enhance our family story.

This is the back side of bringing a long-lived and much-loved family member’s earthly story to a close. Mom chose her own final arrangements, with the strongest expectation that we would all stick together. It is my expectation, as well.

The room is now empty, but our hearts never will be.

Ghost Ranch, Day 2: Lessons from A Renovation Project

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on January 9, 2024 in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Education, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Striving

January 9, 2024, Ghost Ranch- Little things are often huge.

The biggest thing I did today was a tiny one-bordering an area that was 1/5″ wide, 15′ from ceiling to floor. This was prep for the caulking of a small gap. Otherwise, I was running an oscillating sander to smooth the walls we will paint. Speaking of the sander. It has two handles for a reason. Hold onto both, when operating a sander, much as you would with a chainsaw. Unplug the tool, before changing the sandpaper.

Not enough can be said, in renovating, as in living, for a place for everything and everything in its place. It’d be all too easy to leave rolls of masking tape, boxes of screws, hammers, screwdrivers and cardboard boxes lying in any old spot. I am a control freak, in that regard, tending to foresee a co-worker falling on the floor, if the area is not kept clear.

Turning a sink upside down is the best way to trace its outline on a paper template, for matching sink with countertop. Those who try to just push the sink into a cut-out countertop have been known to waste $150. My co-workers turned the sink upside down and traced its outline on the template. Tomorrow, they will match sink with countertop, in the only way that works.

When cleaning a paint brush, use a painter’s comb, running it through the brush, whilst rinsing it under warm running water. Then scrub the handle, brush girdle and the brush fibers with a wire scrubber. Clean all the paint, even that which was left from previous projects, off the brush. Scrub the stir stick with the wire scrubber, the same way. Include the sides of the brush handle and stir stick, in this cleaning. Pat the brush and stir stick dry, before using them again.

These are things one can learn from a master craftsman. These are things that I once knew, but needed to be reminded. These are things that are among those that I need to know, if the direction I sense my life is going, is what pans out. It was a good day.