Building The Love Shack

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As I was driving to the cottage for what we estimate was my fiftieth trip there, I became aware of the changes in the view over the past eight months.

I started doing this drive when leaves had not opened from their buds and farms fields were still un-turned from the winter past.

As Springs came, I watched the leaves open on the trees and the farmers work their fields. Then Summer months came, and the crops grew and the trees were in their full green glory.

Summer past and Fall came, and the farmers were out harvesting their crops and the leaves changed to their magnetic colors of orange, yellow and red.

Today on this cool and rainy October day, the leaves are starting to fall and the farmers fields have been plowed and put to rest for the winter.

I realized that over the past eight month as I drove by each time, that without realizing it,  I was watching the farmers lives.

As I drove there on this raining, chilly day, it made me think about at this past year and look back at the last few years.

So many times from my friends and now my blogger friends, I have heard, “you are such a strong person”,  ” I don’t know how you even got out of bed with all this going on” and ” its amazing how you turned so much bad, into so much good.”

I have an answer to that, I’m not always a strong person. I too have had times that I felt like the world was beating me up.

What I always did in the past, was stand behind an invisible wall that made me look like I was a strong person. Behind that wall, I had all the fears and insecurities that ever one else had.

The problem was that as a manager, and a nurse and a mother and a wife and a friend and a daughter and all those other roles we play in life, standing strong was what was expected of me. Standing strong is what I did.

Until one day, when all the burdens were more than I could bear alone, I let the people I loved, cared for and supported, help me. To do that it meant, I had to admit I needed some assistance. I couldn’t do every thing on my own, and I needed someone to talk to.

Then the funniest thing happened, I got to know my friends of so many years, better than I had ever known them.

We shared secrets, and failures and successes that we never know about each other. We laughed and we cried sometimes. I remember asking them, “why I didn’t know this about you”?  The answer I got back was, ” you were so perfect all the time, you did everything well and could handle anything, it made me feel like you wouldn’t understand.”

WOW. I guess I did a good job of fooling them, but not anymore. There is no need to be strong all the time. My wonderful friends, really are wonderful friends. That is why I am blessed to have them.

I didn’t turn this past four very challenging years into something wonderful, We did. We did it with laughing, loving, crying, understanding and working together.

That’s how the we got through those difficult four years. And that is what the Love Shack is being built on, with hopeful no crying. Not yet anyways.

The Love Shack, just like people, has it challenges too. This weeks problem at the cottage, had to do with the heat again.

When they installed the propane tank, it didn’t have much fuel in it. That’s the way they deliver them for safety reason. So we ran out of fuel and now we had no heat, yet again.

Many phone calls later, with the fuel delivered and the contractor on its way, I headed back to the cottage to meet with the contractor who put in the Cast Iron Stove.

The fuel line had air in it and had to be blown, again. The pilot light had to be re-lite and adjusted, and a wind guard had to be added to the chimney.  And Wa-lah, we have heat, yet again.

And all was good.

Expect that one little problem.

As I sat in the bathroom, water was dripping on my head. It seem that the old roof over the bathroom, the one we are tearing down in the spring, has a leak in the roof.

A bucket has been placed to catch the dripping water. On the weekend we are back at the cottage again. This time, to fix the leaking roof before the winter comes.

You see the Love Shack, just like people, some times has problems too. And we do what we do with everyone, get in the car and head their way.

 

No trip to the cottage goes without stopping by the lake. Today the lake was not looking happy. The wind was blowing, the rain was coming down and the lake was full of waves.

I wonder where the ducks were, as I didn’t see any sitting on the lake.

 

 

In closing today blog, I wanted to say something to my fellow bloggers.

Every day I come on here to find notes, emails and posting from my fellow bloggers. This has become one of the nicest part of my day. I wanted to thank you for your encouragement and sharing your personal stories with me. You too have become a part of Building The Love Shack.