Labor Day and Lemonade
Thursday, September 24th, 2009If I had only one word to describe the end of summer it would
be “rollercoaster.” The good, the bad and the ridiculous all seemed to converge at my house, and as the Labor Day weekend drew the summer season to a close, I found I had a surprising capacity for enjoying even the less-than-great times that August-into-September brought.
Among the blessings that went above and beyond anything I could have imagined was when the same friend from work who had come and bush-hogged my land a couple of weeks ago, showed up with a friend of his who’s a skilled mechanic, and the two of them loaded up and took custody of my tractor. It was hauled it off to the Barn of Generous, Skilled Mechanics, and returned a week later running like a top, with the only “invoice” a muttered estimate for parts alone, that I can cover with a bit under half the money in my Tractor Maintenance fund.
To paraphrase one of my favorite radio financial advisors who says that “goals are dreams that show up in work clothes,” sometimes angels show up in jeans and sweaty T-shirts.
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As the summer comes and goes, it is difficult in a number of ways to believe it was twelve months ago (July 4th weekend) that I helped my roommate of several years move out into her new home, and set my sights on learning to make my way, on my own. I knew I was going to have to reexamine every habit, every assumption, if I were going to not only make ends meet but make the most of my solitude and independence. At the time, the burgeoning piles of boxes that moved in as storage spaces were emptied was daunting; but the clutter they caused was more than offset by the blessed quiet.
I have some useful things to share; but before I start, let me say a sincere thanks to those folks who took the time to email me personally, asking when I’d be back on the Lehman’s newsletter. Your kind words and enthusiasm are more encouraging than I can express, and I can report that while silent, I have not been idle.


s have dutifully left on the back porch, Barney is free to wander in and out and pick a vantage point to keep an eye on me as I set up for the first round of canning I’ve done in years. The
Journal Entry, Thursday, July 03, 2008
es.”

