Friday, September 7, 2007

Choices

Would I rather sit along at the computer and write a blog entry, or sit at the kitchen table with Emily, telling stories about high school home ec class while eating an omelet she generously cooked to my taste, her response to my casual remark about how good the omelet she was eating looked?

Would I rather pound t-posts to fence an odd corner of the front yard, or stand with David and Ezra, watching a huge pile of rotten lumber go up in flames, proclaiming the cleaning up of the long-unsightly side yard?

Would I rather hack weeds in the sun and wind and mosquitoes in the garden, or sing hymns in the cool, shady, screened garage with Ruhamah and Marie?

These are ALL activities that I enjoy doing. But the choices I make on a daily basis reveal a certain pattern.

Living in community, especially after living alone for so long, greatly enriches my life, and highlights my shortcomings as well as builds my strengths. The fact seems to remain that I am a social creature, drawn to the company of whoever is around me. And thus I will always tend to choose the activities that keep me interacting with or working near others, rather than the solitary endeavors that may be--or at least may seem--more important.

But it IS important to spend quality time with those who share my daily life and the work of the farm. I trade the satisfaction of checking completed tasks off my "to-do" list for the sense of well-being that comes from living a balanced, peaceful life with congenial companions. The work gets done, more slowly to be sure, sometimes not even by my hands but by others'.

It's also, in part, a family pattern: Dad always seemed to want to have someone present as he puttered on projects, handing tools, helping hold things. (He may not agree with my memory or conclusion: we've already established that I grew up in parallel universe to the one in which he raised me!). Eventually I realized this came out of his love of teaching: his puttering was narrated with explanations and instructions, generally deeply rooted in science. I find myself often doing the same, even if the audience is Toss or Ambrosius. But how much more fun to narrate to someone who occasionally says "mmmmhmmmm."

So, my apologies to my dear readers for infrequent posts. Know that this signifies good things in my life: work getting done, a peaceful community, pleasant companions, enough sleep being slept for a change.

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