When one tackles these types of projects, it is inevitable that at some point you realize that you've gotten yourself in a situation from which there is no turning back. Like the time I agreed to make cheerleading uniforms for a local school - over 90 separate pieces of clothing, total. It sounded like a good idea, a challenge, to be sure...and the payoff was satisfying...but when I was sitting in my sewing room surrounded by mountains of white ponte knit, I did pause once or twice to entertain the thought, "What was I thinking?"
Or the time I decided to spackle a compass rose on the ceiling of the school room in our last house. Rich made a tool that I used to texture the spackling...and after transferring my measurements onto the bare ceiling, my "vision" quickly became a reality. I didn't realize until I started to paint, however, that getting paint into all the channels made by the texturing tool required Herculean effort. Many hours, one coat of primer and two coats of paint later, I was quite pleased with the results. Admittedly, there were moments that I regretted even starting. But my stubborness (see...a good thing, really!), would not let me quit.
In the end, though, it is the satisfaction of accomplishment that numbs the memory of pain, much as the sight of a newborn baby erases much of the trauma of childbirth. And, truthfully, if we understood the effort required by many of our endeavors, we'd draw the curtains and curl up in a ball in the corner of the basement. Life is hard.
We have been cutting wood forever, it seems. And there is a lot more to cut before we can start the foundation. We have been blessed by some wonderful friends who have come "armed" with chainsaws, and left with sore arms. Thank you, Joe, Bob, Mike, Jeff, and Jacob! We appreciate you all so much!
We have a long road ahead of us. At times, it does seem overwhelming. We have never attempted anything of this magnitude before, and we're not extremely knowledgeable about much of what we're doing. There will be many long days. Physically and emotionally tiring days. But, I know we'll get there, Lord willing! See, I've been down this road before. And I've already entertained the "What-if's?" But, I also know the rewards of hard word and perserverance. I've tasted the fruit of my labor and it is sweet, indeed.
J-Bird is reading "Do Hard Things" by the Harris brothers, which was written to counter the cultural messages of laziness, aimlessness and hopelessness targeting teenagers today. It is our hope that this whole home-building experience will be a legacy to our children; a treasure-trove of life lessons that will serve them throughout their adult lives. Lord willing, that is our desire.
Enough blathering. Here's a few photos of the culverts after we moved the stone across. In the first one, you can see both culverts. Once we cleared away the weeds, we could see a second ditch, although dry, where water obviously flows in heavy rainy times, so we went ahead and installed a second pipe. Not glamorous, again, but needful. Second photo is just a bit closer.
Next photo is Bob in action:
Stay tuned!Kris
4 comments:
Please don't give up. We're looking forward to you as neighbors!
uh the anonymous was the G family. I enjoy your blog.
am just finishing up Robinson Cruscoe--in my attempt to be a well rounded person. Anyway, that story and your post about industriousness (is that a word) for some reason go together in my mind. Have you read it...I imagine you have, but if not I think your older boys would enjoy it.
take care
Mom~ster,
That book is actually on I-Bird's required reading list this year. (Thankfully, I found the box containing it last night). I never read it, but I'm thinking now it will become our next read-aloud, so that we can all benefit from its lessons.
I do believe industriousness is a word...a very good one!
Thought about you this week, with the changes going on...praying for smooth transitions for you all!
Have a great weekend!
Kris
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