
This is not really about finishing touches per se, but 1) last night, my son said that he wanted to “do the finishing touches” for dinner (aka, turn the pot at the very end, while the stove was off), and 2) sister #1 does like to refer to 2012 as the year of change, and it is coming to an end…
Anyway. What I was actually thinking about was that one of the hardest things for me to change about myself is my lack of respect for time. And I say that being fully aware that it is in fact a really terrible trait to have. I think I’ve been trying all year to correct this one thing about myself, as it manifests itself in so many ways… not being punctual, missing deadlines, saying that I was going to do things I just didn’t do… it can go on and on.
It was not until I read the words…
“O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do?”
[Qur'an 61:2]
…That I truly felt it in my heart. And I knew that I had no excuse, I simply had to change.
I started small. I tried to make it as manageable as I could for myself, because I knew that it would be a very difficult thing for me to do, and just acknowledging that helped a lot. I made one list everyday of everything that I said I was going to do within that day. Then, I kept track of what I did and didn’t manage to accomplish. Then, instead of focusing on the things I missed and feeling like this was just not working out, I added them to my list for the next day and hoped that I could just do better next time.
Honestly, being nice and encouraging to myself is not something that I am used to, so I had to first get used to that – which happened previously within “the year of change”. It is necessary though, to be nice and encouraging to yourself when you’re trying to change things about yourself, especially those really tough, hard-wired-into-your-very-being, hard-to-change things!
But, hey… a goal, a plan, a strong will, encouragement (even if it is only from yourself!), and things do start to change… I am doing MUCH better at accomplishing things on my list, and these days, more often than not my kids are early for school!
PS. Creme caramel in photo above courtesy of sister #2!