I'm going to do my best not to bore you all to tears with all this barn work, but we made a great deal of progress today. The carpenter was afraid that it would take several days to replace the sills (thanks to my buddy Ken Owens who pointed out that it was sills and not seals), but the helper I hired was just the ticket and they finished replacing them today. I B SOO Happy!Tomorrow, we'll focus on getting the siding replaced and clean-up work.
I can't tell you how good it feels to be making progress on long-term goals.
Sometimes you get slammed and you let some things slide. That's OK to do now and then, but you simply can't make a habit of letting things slide.The last few years in corporate America, I found myself letting too many things slide. The barn, the old house, and our home all needed attention, but I was simply too busy to slow down long enough to take care of important things, that weren't that "urgent".
I found myself saying - "well, this doesn't matter". But the truth is, everything matters. Not everything carries the same importance or priorities but everything matters in the scheme of things.
A barn with rotting sills and siding might not seem important, but each time I walked by the barn and old house, (which is almost every day) I would look at what needed to be done, and silently kick myself. I know it sounds weird, but I think it affected my self esteem.OK, maybe I've drifted too far from the shore here as the old gospel song goes, but I can tell you this:
As I sat on the bed of my truck this evening admiring the work that we did today, it felt good somewhere down deep inside.
I think everyone has "a barn" that they struggle with. My wish for you, is that you find a good carpenter, and get your "barn" back where it needs to be.
You have been doing very well in a world which isn't cared about.
ReplyDeleteRick:
ReplyDeleteI love your Barn Work and old house stories. We all need to feel we have accomplished something and the work on the barn has helped save a little from our past for others to see. Old Barns like yours are becoming a rarity now that we just roll up the hay and leave it in the fields. Thanks for sharing the the reminder about the "carpenter"
Becky
A little each day and before you know it you'll be enjoying the old house and new space and just maybe 'relaxing' a bit!!
ReplyDeleteWe had a similar experience when Ornery went back to school for his MS degree. Every spare moment not at work was spent studying, and we had very little time for him to do things around the house.
ReplyDeleteSince the money was also going to the school, there wasn't a surfeit of funding to hire it done, either. It took us several months after he got his degree to rid ourselves of the plaguey "to do" list, but eventually all that remained were a few cosmetic fixes that required a lot of Benjamins to fix.
You are so right that those dilapidated fixtures are souring to the soul. Organizers everywhere say that, and I believe it to be true. Good on you for maintaining the old places. I am looking forward to seeing the finished projects--especially your creative space.
tm
I love this post! It's so very true that sometimes we let life get in the way of what is important to you. Kudos to you on a job that will be very well done!
ReplyDeleteThe barn is looking amazing now that it's getting a lot of love and attention and tlc!! Yay!!!
ReplyDeleteHow true that it's so easy to lose focus on what's really important! take care
x
Looks like you made some great improvements in the infrastructure of that great looking barn.
ReplyDeletethat project should keep you out of trouble for a while--good work!
ReplyDeleteYou weren't boring me at all. I really like reading about the barn progress. Yes, it's true, I have my own barn work too (allegorically speaking)
ReplyDelete