Finish What you Start

This weekend was fairly hard core for me. By Friday night, I was really tired from the week. I had filled almost every hour with somewhere to be or something to do, and I was beat. However, two weeks before, I started a tiling project which needed to be finished.

With that in mind, I got up Saturday morning and started trying to wrap my brain around the task at hand. Armed with coffee, a tape measure and chalk line--I set about making a plan. Tiling can be an easy or a difficult task, mostly due to the amount of time you're willing to spend in the planning stage. I chose slate as my medium--which, yes, is more difficult to work with than ceramic...I know that--and did the research.

I wonder how many things we attempt in life would be easier if we could do the research before hand. Would we all chose the same person to marry if we knew what was coming down the road? Could we succeed at any number of things we try if only we had all the information before we start?

Life, unlike tiling, doesn't come with instructions.

There are no Youtube videos to help us find our way through parenting decisions, dealing with the loss of a loved one, or why we should choose one job over another. To lay a tile floor, you need specific products and tools: a wet saw, thin set, notched trowel, tile, grout and grout float. In life, you need different tools and different products at different times.

At the birth of a child, a person takes stock in the immediate safety of that baby. Do they have their needs and wants provided for? During the teenage years, parents wonder why they ever thought they could BE parents. The rules change daily--with the mood swings--and its difficult to know what to do next. As we age, again we need different tools. Am I healthy? Will my body fall into cancer or another illness? Will my children care for me if I cannot care for myself?

My tile floor is down. It took most of Saturday to do it, but it's almost finished. Today I need to grout the seams, then seal the floor with a slate specific sealer. After that, it's quarter round and I'm done.

Like it or not, Life doesn't work in straight lines with clear cut directions. We're going to have to wake up again tomorrow and see what's new, what's changed, and what might still be the same. I love it! The challenges each stage in life brings. But then again, I don't mind laying a slate tile floor...It Always Pays to Finish What you Started...