Sugar maples and the art of finishing

IT DOESN'T MATTER what you call them or whether you're a fan of hotcakes, flapjacks, pancakes, ployes, or waffles, they just wouldn't be the same without a drizzle of maple syrup.

A couple of years ago I wrote a short bit about tapping the maples trees and since then, I've struggled to find a way to share it in illustrated form.

Ideas ranged from a pop-up, to a book cut in the shape of a sap bucket ... even a 3-D cardboard paper sugar shack. My mind was crammed with ideas.

Too many ideas and no solutions.

Held back by perfectionism? Doubting which idea would be the best? I wasn't even sure.

Last week's sapsicle pushed me to complete something, anything, while sap season is underway.

It may not be what I envisioned, and I may or may not be done with the project, but having what looks like a poster completed, I'm satisfied.

Tomorrow is Int'l Ideas Month, and the question is ... what are you waiting for? In struggling with my maple sugar project and looking at the progress I made this week, I've been reminded: don't just start, but finish.

Even if it's not perfect. Even if it's not exactly what you had in mind. 

It was the not finishing that became frustrating. The poster allows me to let go of the idea for a while. To move on to something else.

It may not be perfect, but for now, it's done, and that's as sweet as maple sugar.