George and I walked through this little park on the weekend, after having coffee and a chibata sandwich at Forza's. It had been a tough nine days, with the IPG - Intensive Phase of Growth - behind him, and new projects and people ahead, all of which will use up every packed moment of his day, whether he is contributing at a meeting or pouring over data online with photos of the Invaders/Tigers teams, Baha'i photos of community events, e-mail, his Facebook postings, or his blogs on the Faith and the Illahee Wildlife Preserve.We attended an IPG morning reflection, where our friend Chris mentioned, "...strain every nerve..." For the Baha'is it means service and dedication to the community, building relationships, which George takes very seriously. He is a distinguished resource, both on the job as a mental health counselor and within the Baha'i community.
But, when I heard those words I felt a visceral awareness that this man is spread so thin, with so much on his plate, that it becomes impossible to set goals that would require his participation - like cleaning out the garage and organizing what is there so it is possible to access garden tools or find the lawn mower and the power cord - and pull it out! Or, do upgrades on the yard and the fall cleanup of leaves, digging out dead shrubbery, mowing grass, pulling down dead vines, cleaning the patio and storing the furniture - in a garage that has to be organized and cleaned out before it can be functional.
In a busy life one tends to overlook what cannot be addressed. I looked around, to the garden, the yard, the home. Most of the work must fall on my shoulders. I've had to strain every nerve, in a different manner than George, to get more organized, to commit to goals regardless of energy or the weather just to get it all done - and I'm still in the process!
