From Chaos to Creation: The Birth of Dolly Duitt & The Art of Finishing

Have you ever felt like your responsibilities were a physical structure, looming over you, threatening to topple at any moment?

I often think of life as a garden. Sometimes, we spend so much time admiring the flowers and tending to the delicate roots that we forget to rake the leaves. Before we know it, the path is covered, and we can’t see where we are going.

I know this feeling intimately.

Come sit with me in the gazebo for a moment. I want to share a story from a very busy season of my life—a story about a stack of medical charts, a wise secretary, and how a little character named “Dolly Duitt” came to life amidst the chaos.

The Tower on the Credenza

Years ago, I was a solo Family Practitioner with a bustling practice. My heart has always been with people, and I spent many days deeply listening to my patients’ stories and complaints. I wanted to understand their “whole” self, not just their symptoms.

But this empathy came at a cost. I often didn’t take the time to document the notes in the charts immediately. Instead, I would stack them on the credenza behind my desk, promising myself I would get to them “later.”

Time, however, was a rare commodity.

With my husband working out of town, two wonderful children to raise, and my mother living with us to share the load, life was a whirlwind. I became a procrastinator. My challenge was simply to survive the day.

My secretary used to look at that growing pile of charts with genuine concern. She would joke that one day, the stack would grow so high it would topple over and bury me underneath! Occasionally, I made the mistake of taking that work home—a boundary I should have kept firm.

A Creative Bloom in a Busy Season

Yet, it is often in the busiest soil that the most unexpected seeds sprout.

During this frantic time, I was taking a course at the Institute of Children’s Literature. Every two weeks, I had to produce a story. And so, Dolly Duitt was born.

Perhaps she was a reflection of my own desire to “do it”—to get things done! My instructor saw the spark in those assignments and encouraged me to publish. It took time, revision, and patience, but that story eventually blossomed into the book I have today.

Helping Our Children Cross the Finish Line

My struggle with that stack of charts taught me a lot about focus. It also gave me insight into how we guide our children.

When children don’t complete their tasks, it isn’t usually out of malice. It is often a sign of distracted behavior. They start many fires but fail to tend to any single one.

As parents, this can be exhausting. But how do we teach the value of finishing what we start? Generally, there are two approaches:

1. The Reward: Offering something tangible that they want as a prize for finishing.
2. The Consequence: Taking away a privilege until the task is done.

While both have their place, I favor the latter.

There is no need to spend dollars to buy “stuff” to motivate a child. Instead, removing something that means a lot to them—be it screen time or a favorite activity—and not returning it until the work is complete, teaches a powerful lesson about responsibility and internal motivation.

We must teach them that the peace of a “finished task” is a reward in itself.

Whether you are a doctor with a stack of charts or a parent with a distracted child, remember: the goal is not perfection. The goal is to keep moving forward, one small step at a time.

Is there a task you have been putting off that you can finish today?

Let’s encourage each other to clear the credenza and enjoy the view.