Remove The Blockage First

My kitchen is a mess. It's been that way for a couple of days now. The remnant Christmas dinner dishes, cleaned and in the dish rack, still await putting away. There are pots stacked in the sink, empty wine bottles on the counter awaiting rinsing, the sugar and flour I bought yesterday stand there wanting to be put away. I see it. I feel it calling my name, near screaming at me to be tidied up and cleaned away. Yet there it sits, waiting, unattended.

There are times, whole days in fact, when I simply don't want to attend to the chores in my home, the activities of daily living simply demanding of me that which I do not wish to give. Sometimes, like yesterday, the other things in my life get in the way, things like getting up and shaving and dressing and going out to a party. Given the choice, going out to have fun always wins over cleaning up the kitchen.

It's also a thing about "blockage". There are some things that simply stop me from moving forward, knowing that I cannot accomplish that which blocks my forward progress. This time it was the two platters which have been sitting in the dish rack, dry and waiting to be put up on the top shelf of the cupboard. I can't put them up. Without help, there they sit. I don't want to ask Ray or Mom to put them up; they have as much trouble as I do with those top shelves.

Since I can't put the platters away, I don't want to bother with the rest of the dishes in the rack. Since I'm not clearing the dish rack, I don't want to bother with the dishes in the sink; I have no place to put them once cleaned. Since I can't clean the dishes and empty the sink, there's no room to rinse the wine bottles. And as to the sugar and flour, I'm just too lazy right now.

Here is what I know in situations like this. You either find a way to remove the blockage or you find a way to work around it. Today I asked my Home Care worker to put away the platters. Once I am done writing, I will clear the rest of the dishes from the rack. After that, the bottles and then the sugar and flour. Then, in a matter of a few minutes, the kitchen will be tidy... and all will be right with the world.