What Would Blueberry Do?

I don’t think it’s surprising—or even all that unique—that after the hospital drama of the last several months, I’ve started rethinking parts of my life. There’s something interesting about being unable to do things that suddenly makes you want to do everything.

I made a list. A ridiculously long list. Things I want to do, places I want to eat, habits I want to change, experiences I want to have. And I made myself a promise—not to the universe this time, but to myself—that I would genuinely try.

I know myself well enough to know some things won’t matter later. But I also didn’t want to let the list become one of those “someday” ideas that never happens. I craved a little change.

I reread the lists regularly and pick one or two things to tackle.

Last Friday, I crossed one off: visit a new restaurant on my bucket list. France, Blueberry, and I went to breakfast at Totem Diner in Everett. But that’s not actually what I want to talk about.

I want to talk about the shortest item on my list.

Let’s talk Blueberry.  This girl amazes me. She’s always moving. Always doing something in her house, around her house, for someone else. She doesn’t let things sit. Dishes? Done immediately. Amazon boxes? Broken down immediately. Notice something needs to be cleaned or organized? She just… does it. Part of that is physical—she needs to keep moving. Part of it is just who she is.

Meanwhile, my personality has always leaned more toward it can wait. Dishes can wait. Laundry can wait. Dusting can definitely wait.

And honestly? Usually it works out. Until it doesn’t.

An emergency trip to the hospital meant my house wasn’t what my mom used to call “company ready.” Now, Blueberry would immediately argue she’s not company and she knows exactly how I live. So, when she came to clean my house while I was in the hospital, she knew what she was walking into.

I was mortified.

That feeling stuck with me.

So, one of the items on my list became this: whenever that it can wait mindset starts creeping in, ask myself—

What would Blueberry do?

If the answer is she’d get up and do the dishes… then I get up and do the dishes.

I’ve been trying this for about a week now. I have absolutely no illusion this suddenly becomes my permanent personality, but I wanted to see what happened And honestly? A few things changed.

First—my kitchen is clean every day. It turns out cooking is way easier when you don’t have to clean before you can even start. Or unload the dishwasher first. My mom was the kind of person who couldn’t leave dishes in the sink overnight. I used to think she was a little dramatic about it. Now I kind of get it.

Coming downstairs to a clean kitchen feels good. Weirdly peaceful. Weirdly… adult. Will I slip? Absolutely. But this feels like a habit worth keeping.

The second thing I tackled was laundry. I hate laundry. I mean, does any one love laundry?

Because I can get away with it, I’ll often go three weeks without doing any—and then suddenly I’m staring down Mount Laundry. So, I made a new rule: one load a week. Doesn’t matter if it’s sheets, towels, or clothes. Just one load.

And you know what happened? I stayed caught up. One load feels manageable.

Now… does that one load sometimes remain in the dryer because apparently the dryer doubles as my second closet? Yes. We’re not solving every problem at once.

But yesterday I had three loads to do—sheets, towels, clothes. I did them all.

The sheets are still in the dryer (again… progress, not perfection), but I folded the clothes and put them away immediately. That is not normal behavior for me.

This probably sounds obvious to some people. Easy, even. For me, these are real shifts. I want to get to the place where doing things isn’t a debate or a thought process—it’s just action. Blueberry would do it immediately.

What I keep front and center was that this isn’t really about cleaning. It’s about momentum, priorities, and changing habits after having my routine interrupted.

So, for now, that’s the question I’m carrying around: What would Blueberry do?