That's right... I'm a day behind, it's Monday - I know. This past week threw me off quite a bit...
Board members left on Sunday after a "working weekend" of sorts, all except Colleen and Eric from Bethlehem Farm. They stayed behind an extra day to teach us how to install new windows, using the old portion of the staff house as our example. It was a bit more work than we expected because the old windows had a flange (meaning they were attached to the house from the outside) and so we had to take siding off and such. Tuesday I found myself spending the entire day on the computer, I get annoyed when that happens. I ordered a bunch of parts for the machines we have in the woodshop and finished up my online First Aid training. I know... I've been here for over 3 months and have yet to be first aid certified, its a pretty long process just to get a log-in set-up and then to find time to do that sort of stuff is another thing. Wednesday was an off-day, similar to a Sunday because we had volunteers coming that night for adult week.
The week was much more relaxed than a typical group week, especially since we had 8 adults working with us. Adam and I led a site at Chris and Harry's house in Alma (about a 45 minute drive from the Farm). They wanted the shingles over a portion of their house torn up and replaced with rolled roofing that extended over their porch. The job was a bit longer than expected because pretty much everything was rotted out from water damage, but we managed to get most of it done. Working on roofs becomes tough when you are working against the weather, having exposed wood on your roof in the rain is a very bad thing and causes even more damage. All day Friday Adam and I were leading a race against the clock because rain was forecasted to roll in right around 3pm. With much anticipation and anxiety, the rain held off until about 7pm... Adam and I were still there (all the volunteers left to go back) putting tar paper on so that the roof would be waterproof. Just as we were put the last sheet on the rain began to fall, at this point it was so dark that we couldn't even see the nails we were hammering. But Harry said it did not leak and we just have to go back one day this week to put the finishing touches on it. I felt really good about the job because we did the job correctly and well, and I really cared about giving Chris and Harry a much better roof than the one they had.
Most of the adults left after mass yesterday, although adult week was scheduled to end this morning. So today is an off day and the last two adults that stayed last night left this morning... Hence I often forget what day it is. Especially since the week was so relaxed that it just seemed like a staff week with guests, and the fact that we worked on Saturday. It was really good to have the adults here though, especially since half of them were past staff members. I had a really great time telling stories and connecting with them and I hope they all come back sometime in the future.
This upcoming week I'll be spending an entire day putting together a calendar that will be the Farm's gift to our community friends at Christmas. I'll also be spending another day building covers for the spetic tank holes at the staff house that Laura, Adam and I dug up a few weeks ago. Besides those jobs and a day to finish up Chris and Harry's, I'll be working to do a few smaller repairs on Thursday. It looks to be a good week, and a short week since we have today off... but in a way I'm happy about that because this coming weekend I'll be in Dayton for Caitlin's show (John and Jen) that she's been working on for her theater class. So instead of even more time working and being anxious about the upcoming weekend, I have a bit more time to relax.
Besides being present to others and myself (as I mentioned in a previous post) I have also begun to find myself challenged with our community prayer time... that it is difficult for me to focus and therefore get life out of those prayer times. In turn it has also been a bit challenging for me to plan prayer when I it is my turn to lead. Those three issues (presence, prayer, and planning) are probably all related.
Two more weeks until Thanksgiving break... its so surprising! Ken and I were talking about college and how we were so anxious for those breaks, but now its just kind of like time doesn't really matter and the holidays just creep up on us. Its a bit odd, but yet seems so much more healthy. I guess I at least live in the present :).
