Waiting for Someday

Roy and I have been burying stones recently. Not large rock kinds of stones but, rather, stepping stones. Roy made a countless number of them when we first moved into our house because he has a deep aversion to mud. So, as it rains on occasion, he decided that he would create enough stepping stones to go from the house to the shop, and from the shop to the storage shed, and from the storage shed to the metal storage shed that houses the lawn mower.

That's a lot of stones.

Burying these stones is a bit of work. All of these stones have been in their calculated position for a few weeks now, but we aren't able to mow over them as they are too high for the lawn mower and the concrete breaks the blade (been there, done that). So here is the process:

Edge around said stone.
Flip stone over and dig out the dirt underneath it in order to set the stone inside.
Flip stone back into hole and check for uneven dirt that causes the stone to wobble.
Even out the dirt by adding dirt in lower spots. (I gave up on this part and gave Roy 100% responsibility for this.)
Add dirt in the cracks to set the stone in place.
Move on to the next stone.

Jace, Roy and I have all worked on these stones but Roy is so darned fast at it that he can put in triple what Jace and I can do together.

It's obnoxious.

And so, Roy and I have now figured out a system that lets us bury the most amount of stones in the least amount of time. We capitalize on his skills and my skills (that word "skills" in this context and in reference to me is a very loose interpretation) and away we go. And in typical Roy and Vonda fashion, we talk a mile a minute because...well, that's just what we do.

Thankfully we are almost done. We have 11 stones left and the yard will be complete.

(Thank. God.)

On Sunday Roy, Jace and I went to Gina and Eric's for Easter. They have quickly become family to us, and we love getting together with them. Their kids work diligently to engage Jace. They talk to him, ask him about his life, take him upstairs to play pool, throw a ball outdoors in their amazing yard, and offer a host of activities that they think he might enjoy. And all of their work has paid off. He has finally let down his guard and actually laughs with them on occasion.

Go Jace.

But really? Go Cali and Ciara and Jared. Those are some great kids.

Anyway, as we were driving there as they live about 30 minutes away, Roy said, "Let's make a list of everything we have done to the house so far."

Originally, I turned up my nose. Nah...let's not.

But after a bit, I decided that was lazy of me (one of my favorite things to be)...and so I pulled out a notebook and began to write as Roy happily rattled off a trail of things we (though it's really "he") have accomplished in the yard: pruning the trees (we have a pile of wood in the back that is rather monstrous), fixing the water pressure, adding stones to the outside faucets...and on and on.

I shall spare you.

But needless to say, the list was long. And as we looked at it, line after line of accomplishments, I couldn't help but be amazed at how far we have come in six months.

And then Roy said, "Let's make a list of everything we want to do to the house."

And so we did: remodel the kitchen, fix the fireplace mantel, and so on.

And again, we ended up with quite a long list. We have discovered that when one owns their own home that includes a bit of property, the list is endless.

But that's okay. It just means we will never stop stretching.

Recently I have been working on a Lifebook. This is a book that is all about goals in 12 areas of life. It's based off of an online class that Jacque found and shared with me, and it is inspiring and fun and thought-provoking. One of the tenants of this class is that we should always be moving forward, becoming better, stretching.

I like that.

I'm not sure how good I am at holding myself accountable. I tend to get inspired and work hard for a minute...and then return to my lazy ways after a bit.

Case in point: If it were up to me? Those stones would be stacked somewhere out of sight, waiting for "someday."

But of course...it isn't up to me.

Roy doesn't believe in someday. Roy believes in get 'er done.

And so this evening, I will be out in the back, edging stones, and then sweeping them off after they are leveled.

Because that's my area of expertise. The sweeping off part.

And sometimes that's what life is about: focusing on what I can do well, even if the only gift I bring to the table is holding a broom.

Because really...there's room enough for everyone in this world.

Even a broom holder.