My gentleman associate and I were going to build a deck last spring. And then COVID-19. So instead, we did some other things. We put curbing and river stones in my shady garden nook. We put edging on my front garden and moved some plants from hither to yon.  We added some curbing and extra river stones  to the side of our year-old shed to park the wheelbarrow and lean the spiral stakes and tomato cages when they’re not in use. We mounted the solar light strings to 4x4s cemented into resin half-barrels. All in all, good progress on the refuge of the Casa di Swears yard(s).

So, my gentleman associate and I were going to build a deck this spring. But COVID-19 continues, and good granny, the price of lumber is appallingly high! So we’re planning something different. Instead of a deck, we’re going to pour a stamped cement patio. Since that will cost less per square foot than we were anticipating for the deck, we can make it a little bigger, and still have more money for other parts of the yard reno. Like a triangle shade sail, and a 3-panel water-cut aluminum privacy screen. There are other projects on the go as well, so it will be quite a transformation again this year. I’m pretty excited. Sometimes, the path isn’t what you thought it was going to be.

I read an article this week about how when you go on a road trip, you’re excited about where you’re going and how great the trip is going to be – you have snacks and playlists and magazines to read… but then you have to stop to get gas or use the facilities. You don’t just say, “Well, that’s it, we had to stop, so we might as well just go home”. It related this to goal setting and the journey of achievement. If you  don’t go the pace you thought you were going to, that’s OK – keep going. If your trip is delayed by a few stops along the way, that’s OK, keep going. If you realize there’s a fun distraction or a really great scenic route that will give you a much better experience overall, that’s OK, just keep going!

Also:

I know, I know… wrong holiday. Still, Santa knows stuff about stuff.

The message here is many-fold for me this week. First, my weight loss journey had stalled for a while, but I’m sticking with the plan. Secondly, my former-deck, now-patio plans are even better than they were before. Thirdly, I am behind on the L:ent project. The reflections weren’t coming this year as readily as I would have liked. And now, it’s Holy week, so there’s not much runway left – and a bunch of this weeks reflections are already themed. I can get all wrapped around the axel about that, or I can just keep moving forward to work on the rest of the final ones. On many fronts, I’m going to just keep going. Even small steps are forward momentum, right?

This Lent, I recognize that everyone’s path is not the same length. May the journeys we make – toward whatever spirituality we believe in, bring peace and joy on every leg of the trip.

Extra Credit:

I’ve created landing pages for the last 2 years of Lent Project. You can access them from the Reflections Projects option in the menu bar. Happy reading, friends!