I have a plan

I had a plan - a plan to rest for two days away from the wildlife refuge where I volunteer as education director. The intense student visits ended with the school year therefore other tasks there could be set aside and done at my leisure. A plan for tomorrow at least and for the week ahead is important for me and I found out just how crucial it was when I "planned to rest" after a week in a foreign country.
I didn't have to follow a schedule or do anything. And I didn't. I read a book, several in fact, sat around in the backyard, and ate simple meals that required very little preparation and less clean up. By the end of the second day I realized what I had wasted. Maybe I rested and perhaps that was a good thing but absolutely nothing got done - none of the things I value as accomplishments.
Time is not to squander. I got busy - planned, not hard and fast items, but places to be and things to do or things to see. And acting on them I visited grandchildren, walked on decks of Tall Ships, cleaned out dead shrubs in the yard and marched in the Fourth of July parade.
For my old body, it is most important I plan what action to take upon rising. Sound silly? Well it isn't. Exercise is needed to limber up my joints. So I water the lawn early. My list now is endless like the proverbial "honey do" jar because especially in my home, repairs and cleaning are ongoing. Tasks can be juggled to fit into the time I have between meetings and some are more necessary than others but even the most mundane will catch up with a homeowner and must be faced sooner or later.
That's good. There is much in my future; a day at the public library to excite kids about the adventures of reading; months of special events on the Refuge Second Saturdays; library board meetings and associated plans for a bond; booths at the local and county fairs; Lewis & Clark Heritage day in October; two weeks in Jamaica in November; and just maybe another Earthwatch service in January. In the meantime my car needs service or I have to shop for a new one.
I have every expectation of being here tomorrow and a long time after that so the list of important chores to do and exciting places to go stretches on and on.
Naomi Sherer