Fair Weather Person

Toby went to work this morning (sigh of relief). The man has literally worked my butt off the last few days. We finished the south side of the barn yesterday. The south side is also 60 feet long with a regular door as well as a big door. We had to do some cutting on the metal siding to make everything fit just right. Stopping to cut slowed us down a little. Not having Jesse there to help slowed us down, too. We worked on it Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday was a bit chilly, but not too bad. Yesterday the wind was blowing out of the south. Howling is more the word for the wind. It just made things difficult. My body is so sore. I am feeling like an old woman today. Although I did not do nearly the work that Toby did, I am worn out. At one point, Toby sent me up the ladder to drill a screw into the metal while he held the siding. My arm was extended holding the drill (weighs at least five lbs) - trying to push the drill hard to get the screw to go into the metal. My back started cramping up, my arm was breaking off, and the screw was going nowhere. My glasses fogged up with the steam and sweat that started forming on my head. I felt like a weakling. Most of the time, my job was to drill starter holes in the siding and help Toby lift the siding (20 plus feet) onto the side of the barn (my dad once said I was his best "carpenter’s helper). My arms are just noodles today. The good news is that we have two sides up now and one door. There is a sense of accomplishment, and I do love construction work, but I am a fair-weather worker. I only want to work when the weather is perfect.

It reminded me of being a fair-weather skier when we lived in NM. Living in a ski resort town can be great. You can ski on good days when there are no tourists – when the sky is so blue and the snow is so bright and perfect – yeha! When the weather is bad, we did not have to get out. When you are a tourist, you have to ski on the days you have – no matter what the weather is doing. The kids and I use to take Mondays off as "ski days." Actually, the public schools in Northern NM take about five Mondays off starting in January, but they call them "energy saving days. While teaching in Taos, I sponsored the ski club, which let me ski at Taos Ski Area free (Yeha!). Bo and Jesse were both on the Red River Ski Team, so I went to all of the races with the kids. We skied at all of the NM ski areas. Those were the times when we had to ski no matter the weather. There were days when the wind would be howling and the snow blinding. I hated those days. I remember skiing at Santa Fe Ski Area when I could not even see my skis on my feet because the weather was so bad. The things we do for our kids! That is how I felt working with Toby yesterday. We managed to get ‘r done, and it was good. But you know that cold and soreness you feel after coming in from a day of skiing although you had fun? That is how I felt after working on the barn for a few days. I am ready for a day of just being home and doing some art.