A New Roof

It turned out to be a beautiful day here in the Ozarks. It didn't start off so good. I had my agenda set for my day off, I was ready to get started with a major project that I had not been able to get to. The weather and my days off never coincided. I didn't want to take the old barn roof off and get caught in the middle of the project with a rain storm. This day started off cloudy with a chance of rain. I decided it was a new roof or bust, and set off to beat the rain. The rain never came, in fact, it cleared up and got really hot. I took a break around 1:00 p.m. for a half hour or so, came back to the roof to find that the drill bit I was using for the screws got hot and expanded to the point that it was stripping the screw heads. I scrambled to find another one at my brother-in-law's to finish the job. But, the cool thing in all this is, I got the new roof on. The Lord willing, there will be no more leaks. What a load off my shoulders! I worked my tail off though.

Another reason the day didn't start off that good is that nobody else in my family was privy to my plans. Consequently, they kept throwing wrenches in where I didn't need them. I got a bit snippy and I will skip the details. My wife and I talked later and I now understand. If I had let them all know what I was going to do, they would have been more accommodating. Communication is a wonderful thing, when we use it. I seem to have the habit of just walking out the door to work on the farm and not tell anyone what I'm going to do. When the family calls on me to help them or do something for them, I don't understand why they can't let me get my project done. I told my wife that she was right and that I will communicate my plans to the family so they can either let me work or adjust to my schedule. It is difficult to work a full time job and run a farm at the same time and the weekend's tend to be for the bigger projects that I can't get to during the week. So, no more snippyness!

My oldest adoptive son was a wonderful help to me today. He was bringing lumber to me and handing up to me on the roof. He endured the heat of the afternoon with me and hardly complained. For a seven year old, I thought that was outstanding! Part of the child training process is to build a good work ethic. Busy hands tend to avoid trouble and they will need to provide for their own family, some day. I really enjoy the fellowship we have with each other when we are working together. We bond more "on the job" than we do in the house. Tying these "strings of fellowship" will prove invaluable later on in our walk together.

This is what happened on our farm today. I know, rather boring, but I have never been so tired from boredom! Thanks for stopping by and I will try to post some pictures of the new barn roof soon.