Joy of the Day, Day 34: To-Do List

The days feel so much longer here, compared to California, in a good way. Our northern latitude means the daylight lasts longer than it does in La Quinta, and since we’ve been back on Bainbridge the days have felt full of potential, at their beginning, then well-spent and productive, at their end.

The forecast for today was variable: a few hours of sun then a few hours of rain. This morning, with the whole wide open expanse of Sunday before me, I did what I normally do—I made a to-do list:

1. Clean greenhouse 2. Plant starts 3. Walk Charlotte 4. Laundry 5. Read 6. Peloton workout

As of 7:30, when we sat down to dinner, I had gotten this far:

1. Cleaned greenhouse 2. Planted tomatoes (and not cauliflower, basil, kale, arugula, beans, peas, dill, peppers, melon, citronella, chard, potatoes, cucumbers, parsley, pumpkin, squash, or honeydew melon) 3. One load in the dryer, dried, and one load in the washer, wet (four loads unattempted)

The tenets of self-love dictate, I’ve read often, that one should feel content with checking even a single item per day off one’s to-do list—it’s unhealthy for the spirit to feel failure on a daily basis. But honestly, my pre-Covid, over-achieving reality never really had time for that memo. Or at least never had the bandwidth to truly digest it. Sure, it wasn’t the end of the world if not everything got done every day (and there was always so much to do), but it would have been oh-so-much-better if everything actually did.

To be fair, it never rained today on South Beach, so list items 4-6 never really stood a chance. But rain or no rain, and without a doubt, the pre-quarantine me would have expedited the garden to-dos for the sake of completing my list. Instead, I spent the whole day in the garden, and most of it in the greenhouse. I can’t remember I time when I’ve felt more content, when my muscles have felt more sore, or when my soul has felt more satisfied; potential and productivity are beautifully redefined in the stay-at-home era.

It was another long day very well-spent, and I even treated myself to a walk with Charlotte after dinner.

Today, my clean greenhouse and planted tomatoes are my joy. #joyinplace