I have a confession.
I am really good at starting projects.
Finishing them? Well… that’s a different skill set entirely. Or maybe it’s ADHD. Perhaps both.
At this very moment, there are several unfinished projects scattered throughout my house, patiently waiting for me to return. Or, more accurately, silently judging me every time I walk by.
There’s the Lego pistol project I started over a month ago. I was determined to finish it. I had a plan. I had momentum. Then life happened. It became labeled “Saturday’s Problem.” Which Saturday? I honestly couldn’t tell you. Now it sits hidden inside one of my flower vases in an arched cabinet, with a few pieces still waiting for their forever home.
Then there’s the 1,000-piece puzzle of NASA’s history of spacecraft and telescopes.
It was bought for my 11-year-old after Spring Space Camp. We started working on it together, and somewhere along the way, I promised I would finish it and frame it before we moved.
Summer arrived. Life got busy. And somehow the puzzle transformed into a semi-permanent piece of furniture.
The clock was ticking because we were about to start boxing up his room for our move. The good news? The puzzle eventually got finished. The bad news? Not nearly as quickly as I’d confidently predicted.
Apparently, my deadlines and I have a complicated relationship.
My filing system is another unfinished masterpiece.
One day, I was absolutely convinced I was going to organize every paper, receipt, school document, and random scrap of information in this house. I bought the folders. I had the labels. I had the vision.
The vision and I are currently taking a break from each other.
Recently, I acquired an 80’s style secretary desk from Facebook Marketplace. It has a beautiful, orange toned oak finish, and Joe graciously agreed to let me bring it home because I promised I would refinish it once we get back to South Carolina.
That desk has now joined the growing support group of projects waiting patiently for my attention.
The funny thing is, these unfinished projects don’t bother me nearly as much as they used to.
A few years ago, I would’ve looked at them as proof that I wasn’t disciplined enough, organized enough, or productive enough.
Now?
I see evidence of a full life.
A life filled with teenagers, road trips, coffee cups left on counters, new ideas, changing priorities, and not quite enough hours in the day.
Will I eventually finish the Lego project?
Probably.
Will I finish the puzzle?
I have to.
Will the filing system ever become the organized masterpiece I imagined?
Let’s not ask hard questions.
For now, my unfinished projects can keep sitting there, judging me from across the room while I start yet another project I’m convinced will only take “a couple of hours.”
Because if there’s one thing I’m consistent at, it’s finding new ways to keep myself busy.
And honestly?
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
