by Sarah W from HRM Parent Ok, don’t judge me, but I will openly admit to being a fan of Martha Stewart. I’ve made some of her crafts, baked more than a few of her recipes, borrowed ideas, shared her tips and more.  I’ve also been a subscriber to her magazine for years and love how it gives me an excuse to sneak away at least once a month for a nice bubble bath while I read through it. Her latest issue arrived early last week.  The same week that my husband was away and my kids cried every night because they missed him.  The same week that my workload at the office nearly doubled.  The same week that the license on our car was about to expire and I needed to buy gifts for a birthday party and baby shower.  The same week that I spent 5 hours in the ER without a diagnosis. You get the picture.  So it wasn’t until last night that I tucked down into the tub, face mask on and magazine in hand, ready to dig in.  I took a minute to contemplate the hectic week that was now behind me and how many things that got missed along the way as a result. The laundry pile that quickly doubled in size as my husband unpacked from his trip.  The dried splatters of glue that needed to get scrubbed off the kitchen table.  The button I had to sew on my daughter’s coat. It goes on.  Mental to-do list in order, I opened the magazine…. Now I can’t say for sure if this is a regular item in the magazine or if it’s just the first time I’ve actually stopped to read it, but there before me was Martha’s calendar for the month.  No, not the typical calendar of sports practice and PTA meetings that we’re all used to. This one included tasks like cleaning up the woodpile, making parsley butter, getting the lawn mower serviced and ordering baby chicks for the chicken coop. Seriously?  I had to read it again to make sure it was real.  For as much as I like ‘ol Martha, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the thought of making space in the calendar for seasoning the cast iron pans or individually wrapping and storing candles.  I mean, really.  I can barely keep up with refilling the jet dry in the dishwasher or cleaning out the toaster tray. But then it got me thinking, (which is maybe what Martha intended) that maybe adding a few of the things on my to-do list to the family calendar might not be such a bad idea.  Hey, it’s worth a try if it means actually getting some of those things done, right?  So after the bath I headed to the kitchen and had a little fun slotting in the button sewing for Thursday night, replacing the back porch light for Sunday, and cleaning out the car for next Friday.  I have to say, it was pretty refreshing and totally worth it if it helps me get even one of those things done and off my list.  It was helpful to think about the specific items and to figure out when, amid our already busy schedule, I would actually have the time to do each of them.  Taking it one item at a time instead of having this long list stare at me for days on end feels pretty good and was a little bit of time well spent in my books.   ...