Restlessness

Hurry up and wait seems to be an appropriate motto for my life right now. For the past couple weeks, I’ve struggled to accept the fact that there is really nothing I can do at the moment but wait. All of the timbers have been completed and stacked on site, the pegs have been shaped and tapered on the shaving horse, and the cabin raising is a couple weeks away.

The raising will take place on the 28th of February, weather-pending, and I’m as nervous as a freshman on a first date. I’ll have 15+ people all standing around watching to see if my 5 months worth of woodworking fits.

So to counter my anxiety, I’ve taken to tasks that aren’t really that important. For instance, today, I spent half an hour making a stone bench out of four split stones and one mammoth stone. Aside from the near hernia, it was a pleasant experience. And though it accomplishes nothing more than a place for someone to site next to the fire on the 28th, I found great enjoyment from making it.

I must say, there is a peace that comes with completing tasks that are entirely unnecessary. The simplicity in moving stones around the forest floor to provide a nicer place to sit and a barrier for a campfire is immediately rewarding and forever lasting.

I should relish in these moments. It won’t be long before I’m working at a furious pace and making my dollar stretch. In the mid-summer, I imagine I’ll be longing for the simple moments raking leaves and splitting wood.

                                                               (The timbers ready to go)

                                                        (Good times waiting to be had)