Duty…
As with every blog I write, the thoughts, feelings, and ideas are mine. They are not meant to be judgemental, insulting, or offensive in anyway. In fact, they aren’t even meant to teach. They are simply me sharing what I’m living through at this stage in my existence and may not align with your place in the world today. More and more I’m finding that we, as human beings, want everyone to “agree”. It’s not possible. Sometimes we will have a same or similar perspective; often we will not. I think in the grand scheme of life, we can try to believe in similar principles – the value of a human life, support for those struggling, care for our older generations and respect for their experiences, and so on.
When I think of “duty”, the very first thing that comes to mind is duty to country. Especially at this time of year, I am actively thankful to those men and women who are willing to put themselves in harm’s way to stand for our freedoms. I have a cousin who was a Marine and step family who are active members of the Canadian Armed Forces. My duty to country means I support them and stand by, and for, them.
I owe a duty to my family, friends, community, and country. I also have a duty to myself, which is often the hardest to enact. Duty to family and friends means to be there for them, to support and encourage, to be honest with them, and to hear them without judgement (also often hard).
My duty to my community can be in many ways, not the least of which is respect of the area in which I live. That respect, to me, means taking care of my house and yard and not negatively impacting others’ homes. This is currently causing me some distress. I still have a pile of dirt (reduced, thankfully) to be spread on my side yard. I think it looks dreadful, along with the brush and yard waste left for disposal. It often feels like there just aren’t enough hours in the day or enough days in the weekend! Duty means doing what needs to be done, even when it’s not the fun stuff that I want to do! Unfortunately, especially the yard work, can be a difficult task due to impacts outside of my control, like weather! I do think I’ve been doing well and will hopefully finish all on my “to do” list before the turn to winter.
Sometimes duty is the voice in my head that reminds me I shouldn’t do the “wants” until after cleaning toilets, doing laundry, and all the other household chores. Sometimes it’s annoying and interferes with relaxing or “taking a day off” on the weekend. Always, it’s upsetting if I ignore it for too long and must live with the resulting chaos when the work week returns, and I become too busy with other priorities.
Duty to community includes respect of this house, its history, and place in the community. It means those “less fun” activities such as cleaning, fixing, and upgrading when necessary. It involves time and energy and the lack of attention will be a negative impact. When you ignore the essentials, they pile up. Taking care of your house ensures that you become aware of issues (hopefully) before they become insurmountable. It also keeps the house in better shape. Taking care of a house can help reduce the number of fixes that are required to retain its value and functionality. I think when a house is well cared for upgrades are then based on changing lifestyle or décor.
Duty to the care of the house is leading to the passion that drives my renovations. At the core is a need to keep it clean and looked after. From there comes the desire to make it fit with my visions, my love of colours and aesthetics, and my love of history. That work is the “fun stuff”; it’s the passion that gives me the energy to continue on the path forward and it’s the topic for the next blog. 😊
As I mentioned in the previous blog, there are still some outstanding tasks to complete the kitchen. I’m sharing my new quartz countertops for now, and will hold off sharing the full kitchen pictures until all work is done.
The new paint and some of the wallpaper in my master bedroom! So much gratitude to my two helpers (only one pictured) for their expertise and hard work. Lots of housekeeping work in this room required before “putting it back together” as well as one remaining renovation piece. It’s going to be incredible when finished!
I often feel I have a duty to re-use items. I hate throwing things out - adding to a garbage dump is distasteful to me. This was a candlestick not in use that I felt could be redone to fit in a planned area of my house. I think it’s so pretty and perfect for the space! (more on the space to come in the months ahead)
I’ve always felt a duty to decorate at Hallowe’en. This is my son’s favourite holiday, not mine, and I always supported him. From a young age, he would work for months on a plan for our yard and I would allow him to miss a day of school to get set up. His last Hallowe’en before leaving for post-secondary he was given the trust of our neighbours and created a three-yard extravaganza. I continue to answer that particular call to duty because of the joy it brings to the children of the neighbourhood. This is part of the decoration for this year.