Just Trying to Get Through This Like Buddha

By débora Ewing
A girl of about 14 came up the driveway and offered to shovel - from my car straight to the road, she specified, not the full circular drive - for $40.00.   I laughed.  That's a $50 job at least, just my side, and she doesn't know about the gravel and the carpet. I had $3 in my wallet;  I gave it to her for taking the time to come up to the cottage.

My snow shovel was rescued from the side of the road this summer. It's sturdy and can hold more wet snow than I should lift.

I developed a snowplough method of push-and-dump.  I learned that leaves are easier to shovel with snow on top of them.  Also, the carpet in the driveway makes for easy snow removal.  I was happy to see the green moss, but wondered whether it was actually harmful to uncover it and let it be snowed over again.


I'll admit I had a little bit of fun. Deer were hiding under the trees, and the foxes ran through the yard too fast for me to take a picture of their frolic. Even the cardinals seemed playful. I sort of liked the feel of snow dropping down the back of my neck as I brushed the low-hanging branches of the big pine. If the snow didn't last any longer than a week, I could handle these inches. Four days of deep snow, yeah, that would be fine. Two would be better. I survived the Blizzard of '78; that year we were able to climb snowdrifts to get up on the roof of the house and jump off.  My brother jumped with his arms at his sides and got stuck neck-deep in snow. Of course I laughed and didn't help him out.  I don't want to live this life, or I'd stay in Michigan.

Actually, I heard they don't have any snow right now.

Manual labor is good for contemplation. It's something missing in our busy office-oriented world; maybe people wouldn't be so excited about self-help books if they spent some hours out in the field feeling their muscles and breathing. These days you can read articles that tell you how to breathe.

My ancestors just gave me a sarcastic Hmph. The Ewing Way is to STFU and muscle through; people who have no money handle their business, no matter what the business is.

Handling your own business is good. Sequestering  yourself is silly and a waste of time.  You do have to crack the door open in order to let people network with you. Be aware and make sure there's an equal trade-off of resources.

Face your fears and get out that shovel.

This spring I'm making driveway carpet acquisition into a project.  I'll keep an eye out for free oriental rugs on Craigslist and on the side of the road. Tiny Cottage and its small homestead are magical; they deserve magic carpets.


Comments

  1. MariMonday, 14 January, 2019

    :-) I think I remember that shovel. It's raining hard here, and is supposed to keep it up off and on until Friday. No shoveling required, but we do have to make frequent trips outside for chicken duty and to check and make sure the drain is carrying the flood away. It's nice and warm in the cottage. Other than brief forays outside, this is where we will stay. Why do you care about our rain here in Los Angeles? It usually becomes your next snow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. débora EwingWednesday, 30 January, 2019

      HAHAHAHA Mari, no, it's not *that* shovel, the bright green one that disappeared and came back again. I was so mad about it because I paid money for that sucker. We left that one at the old house, along with a 50-foot garden hose that neither of us figured we would need. Leave a place better than you found it.

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