Shop Blest

First, yes I know "blest" is not the standard spelling of the word blessed, I just thought it looked better. Or at least more fun. One of the things I've done each fall and spring for several years now is attend an educational series that the Woodsmith Store sponsors. They are on Thursday evenings and typically last for about an hour. They cover a great many topics, and even when it's something I know about, I always learn something. A couple of weeks ago, the biggest thing I learned was how incredibly fortunate I am to have the shop space I have.

There was a conversation going on about table saws  It is clear to almost everyone that this piece of equipment is the center of most shops.  Admittedly, if you are a scroll sawyer, or a turner, this is not the case, but for the rest of us, it is. The actual conversation was around what you have to move to be able to work in your shop.  I remembered working on an armoire for Sara while living in Lees Summit. In order to get anything done, I had to pull two cars out of the shop, and then get out equipment and material before I even started to work. It seriously took me an hour to get started and an hour to tear down at the end. That was with good weather. If the weather was bad, it was more of a challenge as I had to get the place warmed up as well.

Now, I come to the shop and am ready to work the minute I walk in the door. Heat is automatic in the winter thanks to a setback thermostat and I am considering air conditioning. My equipment is dialed in so measurements are accurate since I don't have to move things. I have the space needed to work on a teardrop trailer for my sister. Even with a trailer sitting in the shop, I still have plenty of room to work. Listening to these other woodworkers describe the things they had to do to be able to work made me realize how truly fortunate I am.

Then, while I was thinking about woodworking, my mind floated to a bigger place. I know we all face challenges each and every day, but it struck me how blessed I really am. Even though as a family, we really didn't have much when I was growing up, my sister and I really did not know it. The community we were born into and the family we were part of overcame the lack of tangible wealth. The community, and our family made up for it all. We did a lot with a little.

Jaye and I had college educations, because my mother truly believed that if someone was willing to fill out enough paperwork there was a way to go to college. We both had student debt when we came out but we dug in and took care of that as soon as we could. I went into the workplace and thought I would work at my first job until I retired. This wasn't the case, but I have been lucky as I have been able to be a "broken field runner" in the workplace. I have been able to learn things and pivot into a new job/career using all that I learned.

I guess all of these things came pouring in around me while I was thinking about my shop because of the world we find ourselves in today.  In large part, the Sigourneys of the past are gone.Places where people are extended family. Places that take care of each other. They are much less common today than they used to be. One of the places I have the opportunity to work in right now is Neola, Iowa. I think Neola is much like what I am talking about. That community has been able to raise money and get projects done unlike many other communities their size. If you have never stopped in there, you should visit.They have some amazing things going. And their HooDoo Days is a celebration to be experienced.

Anyway, I got a long way off track there, but I know much of what would help this country right now is if we were more like Neola or Sigourney. If we knew our neighbors and those around us. If we took the time to try to understand. If we walked a mile in their shoes.  I didn't grow up in a perfect place, but when I cross the Keokuk County line and start waving at people, just because I might know them, I know I was blessed to learn all of that. So, tomorrow on the way to work rather than yelling or honking at someone, I am going to wave and start my own little movement.

 Why don't you join me?

Gatherings

Whether it is just the time of year, or the holidays, I have been thinking about something lately.  What are the reasons families and friends gather? Groups come together for the absolute best of times: birthdays, anniversaries, commencements, weddings - you know the list. Lately however, I have watched a few gatherings which are a more difficult, and they have made me think.

For all of us, there have been times when family members are sick or dying. If not yet, there will be these times. They are simply unavoidable - as inevitable as taxes.

Throughout the last three or four weeks I've watched the house across the street. We knew one of the members of the household was fighting an end of life disease. We just weren't sure when it would happen. Then the increase in traffic alerted us to the fact that the time had come. Sara did a good job of staying connected during this time. I did not. Anyway, cars of family and friends have been across the street for the last several days, and I wonder about all of the conversations. When we meet, one of the standards things said is, "We shouldn't wait for a time like this to get together. We should get together more often."

This is what I have really been thinking about. Is this the right approach? Is this the attitude we should take at these times? I think it is not, and I will give you a couple of examples of another way to handle this. Several years ago, I went to a family gathering in What Cheer - a celebration of life for a member of my family that had passed - and we were out at the cemetery to bury the ashes. After a bit of conversation and a prayer or two, the time came to actually handle the burial.  Well, nobody brought a shovel. Now while there are families and circumstances where this would have caused an absolute meltdown, not my family. A member of my family just went to his truck, pulled out the long-handled shovel and we continued the ceremony. We all laughed, because it was funny and touching.

Fast forward to last fall - same general part of the world. We were in Thornburg for my cousin John's funeral. The crowd was enormous as John was one of those people everyone knew. They had the family visitation in the Tri-County High school in the common space at the front of the building. When I got to Berdette, John's wife, the first thing I did was make her laugh. I told her that John Ogden was the only person in my life who could get me to voluntarily walk into the Tri-County High School. For those of you not from our part of Iowa, Sigourney and Tri-County were not what you would call the best of friends, in fact, the tension and rivalry between the schools was palpable when students or graduates from the schools were in the same place.

I tell all of these stories about family gatherings for the same reason. There are good reasons to get people together and there are other times people have historically thought of as "bad" times to get people together. When I walked out of John's gathering, the second thought touched me. Yes, I will miss John, no question, but I had the opportunity to see some of the people in my life I rarely see.  Why is this considered a bad moment? Why not just see it for what it is, time to spend with family and friends. We make promises to schedule something, but the truth is, the minute we leave, our life pours in on us and another year passes before we know it.

Okay, I've wandered all over the place with this, and feel like I may have not made the point I wanted to make. The next time my family gets together, for whatever reason, I will be completely respectful of the situation, but will also take the time to hug my cousins, talk to my aunts, and do those things that makes us family. I will enjoy the opportunity to see and be with family. These people can drive me the craziest, but they have always been in my life. I need to take advantage of the fact they still are.

That's what I am thinking about today. I hope it gives you something to contemplate. Next up, I have a great thought about the size of your shop, and what this means to others. I look forward to writing it and I hope you look forward to reading it.