I remember years ago - the term " burn out " was flying all over the place ( maybe it was just a Montreal thing - I'm not sure about that ) but everyone was suffering from it.
People were taking time off work for " burn out " with letters from doctors
And I - being the cynical no nonsense type of person I used to be - would inwardly roll my eyes..........( I did a lot of inward eye rolling back in the day - it's probably why I have bad eyes now - karma is a bitch )
My go to response- was always " Well I don't have the luxury of having a burn out "
I have kids to raise
A job to get to
A house to keep in order
A life to live.
I cringe when I think of how glib I was......................
I never asked for help - because I loved basking in the praise if the truth be known
" how on earth does she do it alll " was music to my ears - I'm not sure what kind of disorder that stems from ( and I don't want to know ) because I was praised often as a child.
I could curl iron my hair while making the kid's lunches
I made 2 suppers in the evening - so that the next night's supper was ready - and then made 2 suppers again the next night. ( so even when I was ahead of the game I couldn't stop )
I lived with a vaccum attached to one arm and a bottle of vim attached to the other and often vaccumed myself out the door so that when we came back home at night, it was done.
I can see now that I was a neurotic lunatic - always an inch away from that dreaded " burn out "
AND that I had a severe case of O.C.D. ( to date, wine is the only cure I've found that has any merit at all - give me a couple of glasses of that elixir and I could care less about the state of the house )
I started painting this last night -
and smack in the middle of it
( and I DO mean smack in the middle of it )
I looked at it and thought " I'm just too tired to finish you "
Those words never cross my mind - not the tired part of course- I've been exhausted daily with all of these renos - and I complain about it constantly - but the " I can't finish you " part - I push myself mercilessly to finish what I start.
Like my whole world will collapse if I don't.
And I think it's time for me to admit that I just can't work at the speed I used to -
Okay scratch that - that makes me sound old -
Let's switch it to this - I think it's time to admit that I don't WANT to work at the speed I used to.
Why am I always racing against the clock?
If any of you have a degree in mental disorders please do NOT try to figure me out - like I mentioned above I really don't want to know. ( and I have a ton of wine here for when it gets out of control )
And that's why the top piece of this hutch is on hold.
Because I'm now mature enough to realize that " burn out " is just around the corner.
And there's a paisley patterned floor to be sealed - which I really do need to finish - so you can clearly see that I still don't have the time for one.
Have a wonderful day everyone !
Here - let's throw a basket on it and call it done LMHO
ASCP - Paris Grey and Old White.....................
UPDATE - she needed a little more distressing - her handles needed to be painted -
So here's a couple of more photos
I painted in 2 directions - the white undercoat one way and the grey top coat in the opposite - because I wanted a little texture on this country piece
Much love,
Me
I'll be at these fabulous parties !
French Country Cottage Shabby Art Boutique My Turn for Us
My Romantic Home Miss Mustard Seed The Shabby Nest
Funky Junk Interiors
I think a lot of women have the same problem. Take time and smell the roses as the saying goes. Now, if I am tired, I stop and finish the next day. My choice of medicine is Vodka on the rocks with three olives and my burned out leaves.
ReplyDeleteLike the hutch - looks great.
Have a great weekend and enjoy.
Mary
LMHO!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat looks much cuter without the hutch. I think I'd take the hutch apart and hang just the door part on a wall.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!!
Did you? Get up in the middle of the night I mean. If you did.....there's only one cure for that. COPIOUS amounts of wine. Hahaha! Have a great day Suzan!
ReplyDeleteThe longer I know you the more I realize how much alike we are. I, too, am a "finish it NOW" kind of person. I can't stand having a mess of things undone. Every Tshirt has to be folded and put in the drawer if I am doing laundry. The joke at our house was-hold your plate lest Mom think you are done and shoot the rest of your meal down the disposal. lol
ReplyDeleteI am getting better at pacing myself. It does come with age, I think, and I realize that I don't HAVE to be Superwoman anymore. While I am brushing my teeth I will be neatening the counter. It is just crazy. I know that I do it because my own mother was so messy-lol-and I dont want to be her! lol xo Diana
I nodded all the way through this.
ReplyDeleteDude....the middle of the night? Not me. I'd almost rather wet the bed than get up to pee in the middle of the night....
ReplyDelete-andi
I'll be the first to admit to anal-retentive "finish it before I go to bed" syndrome... but age & wisdom is helping soften that out of me...
ReplyDeleteAnd OF COURSE wine helps with that!!!
Hugs ~
Suzan this is so pretty. It's hard to realize you can't do things the way you used to. I was having a fit last week because I can't move quickly and everything is such an effort. John looked at me and said you're not in a race. You have to do things more slowly than others. It will get done and if it isn't on everyone's schedule that blogs that's how it is and do this because you enjoy it. He always knows what to say, I love my man.
ReplyDeleteCindy
I don't get up in the middle of the night for anything except peeing. It can wait till tomorrow, cause after all "tomorrow is another day". It does look really pretty1
ReplyDeleteMe too, me too, me too!!!!!! LOL!!!!! I say, " Cuz I don't want to!!!" All the time!!!! When I use to always say sure, just give me a minute, I'll get right on it!!! Since I retired, I've become very independent, and sassy, I think I sound like I've entered my second childhood!!! Or it could be the wine talking!!!! Have a blessed day!!!! Karen
ReplyDeleteI have to learn how to say " cuz I don't want to " lol -
DeleteDo you stamp your foot when you say it?
Thanks so much Karen - you have a blessed day too
xoxo
Wine is the answer, now what was the question? My attitude is gradually changing from I must be in control of everything and never stop until I drop to it will all still be there tomorrow and I'm too tired to be productive any more. It's a two steps forward and one step back kind of progress as I can still be found in the shop at midnight 'rearranging' the displays more often than I'd like! I've been forced to slow down this week as I had an argument with a ludicrously heavy buffet (veneered granite I think) and it won. One minute I was heaving it up the step to the shop, the next it was on top of me, I don't think there is any part of me that ISN'T bruised :-( I call it extreme retailing...
ReplyDeleteOMG Gerry - you live my life - ( veneered granite LMAO )
DeleteI hope you're ok - I'm so brittle my arm would have probably just snapped off !
xoxo
OOO, poor HALF HUTCH...and poor HALF BURN OUT YOU.....drink a whole bottle of the bubbly and your won't even KNOW you have another part of the hutch to finish...then, in the morning, when your head is feeling 4 sizes that it is, you can" damn bj....:)"
ReplyDeleteI have a hutch almost the same and it cries night and day for PAINT...now, I know the color to paint it....yours is adorable in gray.
Good for you! The basket finishes your hutch perfectly. For now. :)
ReplyDeleteOkay.....then comes along good old Granny Nanny who got stumped trying to figure out what "LMHO" stand for.....I tried to pronounce it, but that didn't work. I tried saying it three times and clicking my heels together, but when I opened my eyes I was still standing in the middle of my bathroom. I come from that old "over the hill" crowd, but I will take a stab at it!!!! drum roll please........! "LAUGHT MY HEAD OFF"??!!!??? Yes, no, maybe so? If I am right, I will feel so very with it and in the know. If I got it wrong, then I will just write it off as being unenlightened!
ReplyDeleteWinner winner chicken dinner !!! ( you win the red ruby shoes darling !!! )
DeleteYes - it's Laughing my Head off
Now can you guess what LMAO is?
You are just too cute for words !
XXX
xoxo
Hey Nanny! I don't know if you got my reply to question on the dog portrait...please email me!
DeleteCecilia
Aren't you going on a holiday soon? That is exactly what you need. No renos, no painting, just relaxing. You will be renewed!
ReplyDeleteYes! Wine is the answer!! I'm with you...I can't stand to not finish something but my poor self just isn't what it used to be and I'm not liking it. Going down kicking and screaming, I think!
ReplyDeleteTake a day or two off and then go back to it, sometimes you need a break.
ReplyDeleteYep...nothing cures burn-out like a bottle of wine...or a cruise! LOL!
ReplyDeleteSure, take a break, you deserve one. You do such amazing work, ALL the TIME!
ReplyDeleteYou're allowed a minute, ....or two.
Hugs,
Patti
You are a super woman. I get up in the middle of the night and watch TV partly cuz it puts me back to sleep. ...plus I think the aliens are outside and that's where my power tools are. Okay that's not true....I am just too tired.
ReplyDeleteWow Susan! It's like I was reading about myself! I'm glad you recognize the need to slow down a little, I had to have a stroke at the age of 37 in order to make me slow down and stop pushing myself to the extreme. I look back now and think how much I missed out on because I was so busy being "perfect".... a standard I had set for myself over time. I was a "do it yourself" girl in EVERY way.
ReplyDeleteOther things can wait......YOU come first :0)
Take care!
Smiles!
Terry
P.S.
Some of my best projects are a product of wine :0) lol!
I was super-woman while I worked full time, never thinking that I was doing enough. Now that I don't work, I don't get anything done anymore, LOL! I need some middle ground here!
ReplyDeleteHi Suzan!!!
ReplyDeleteI love when white and grey are used together!!! You did a great job of making it come alive!!!
Have a great week Suzan!!!
Pam
xox