Sometime during the last week or so of August my hot water heater decided it was time to die a slow, miserable death. Rather than just die all at once, it wanted to go slowly so it kept heating water and giving me hot showers and stuff. But behind closed doors, it was leaking water underneath my house, causing a major mess. The only evidence of that mess was a sudden warped floor in my kitchen. Upon investigating the warp (which soon brought friends) we discovered the leaking water heater and the wet and saturated mess it had been leaving for me over the course of about 2 or 3 weeks.
Bring in the cavalry
The insurance adjuster and the water restoration contractor and the plumber are slowing putting things back the way they should be. By the time the plumber installed a new (very expensive) water heater, I had been without running water in the house for eight days. Right now my entire kitchen is just a big hole with the subfloors torn out and awaiting some glue and tape and Lincoln Logs to put it back together.
Eventually I’ll have new vinyl (or tile?) in the kitchen and while the house is torn up, I’m going to spring for new carpet in the rest of the house. And I might as well paint some walls too, right? Heck! I’ve been wanting a new mattress and box springs for a while, might as well figure that out now too. Not exactly what I had planned for mid-September, but that’s what life has handed me.
And in the face of all this chaos I am often feeling defeated and at a loss for what to do next. My home life has been turned upside down … and of course it’s all happening at a time when my day job demands a lot of my undivided attention (story of my life, right?). I’ve got graphic design clients with deadlines I’ve committed to and will honor. And that’s not all. I am committed to my BIG Dreams and achieving the goals I’ve put in front of me. And I’ve made some promises to myself related to this website and my pursuit of passive income and a better life and this includes writing my next book (which is still chugging along).
Find a place of peace
So here I am at 10:00 at night, hiding out in my bedroom because it’s quieter in here than it is in the other part of the house where the industrial size dehumidifiers are set up (holy wind storm, Batman!). And I’m writing. Why am I writing? Because I promised myself that I would write every day and see how many days in a row I can go without breaking the streak and it’s way too early in the streak to break it now!
If I can’t stay on track in the face of a little bit of chaos, then how can I ever expect to stay focused when it gets really hard?
What are you facing right now that seems to be throwing chaos in your face? How are you handling it? If you’re struggling, maybe it’s time to review your BIG Dream list and remember what you’re working toward and why it’s important to show up every day.