It’s the beginning of spring and, as homeowners, we have a lot of additional seasonally related tasks. Finding the time to do these while still caring for my husband can be challenging. What seems to work best for us is to keep those tasks in mind but not try to do them all at once. I also try to be prepared for any of the tasks before I start so I have all the tools ready and can get going quickly.

As an example, we have a large patio that needs to be cleaned every spring and I have a power washer which I love to use. I know from experience that this task can take most of a day but when do I ever have that much uninterrupted time? Yet we managed to get it done this past weekend. How did we do it? I simply looked for a day of good weather and a day when my husband was also feeling good. Amazingly, it happened on Saturday. I made sure his needs were met and then started the job. I carried my cell phone in my hip pocket so he could text if he needed me and physically checked in with him regularly to see if all was okay. In the afternoon, I set up a chair for him close to where I was working so he could watch and feel a part of the activity. Knowing that things can change quickly, I also had a back-up plan and was prepared to stop work at any time. I did the minimum necessary, got the power washing done and left setting the patio up for another day.

I could have broken the cleaning project into two days but know I never can depend on tomorrow being another good day. Instead I pushed forward and got it done. As it turned out, Sunday was also a nice day so I got all our patio furniture out, with my husband’s supervision, and we were able to enjoy a snack outside to celebrate a task well done. As my husband put it, a long range plan completed through short range action.