Taking Out the Trash - Or - What We're Doing When We're Not Having Fun

 

Serene sunrises on flat water make for much better pictures than bins loaded and ready for the dump. Therefore, it might be understandable, if one was only going by the photos I post, to assume that's the total cottage vibe these days.

It's not.

Right there in that first picture is 420 lbs of construction garbage, pressure treated wood, siding edges, and a few leftover asphalt shingles for good measure.

And today we took out the trash.

That's no small deal when you're on an island. The process first consists of loading up the bins from the unsightly pile beside the bunkie. That took us two separate work times on two separate weather-friendly days. Then we have to heave these things over uneven rocks and load them onto the boat. That was another day itself.

Today, another weather-friendly day, we drove this load into the marina, offloaded into the van, then heaved it all into the assigned bin at the dump. That's where we got it weighed, so that's how come I know how much it was.

While we have enthusiastic helpers for dump runs at other times of the season, when it's just the two of us, we are finding it wiser to spread the task out like that.

Just a bit of math. Each bin was about 70 lbs.

That's a lot of trash. And what with the ride out to the marina and back, plus the driving time to the dump itself, it took the whole morning.

Since the morning is my best work time, Ken mentioned that he was sorry it took so long. But I was glad to get it done. This was a very needed item to check off the list for this week. And the place looks so much better for it!

And I think it's like that sometimes. Sometimes what my deeper self needs is quiet contemplation on flat water. Restful, no pressure, just all beautiful and calm.

But sometimes what my deeper self needs is a good taking out of the trash. Honest confession, letting the Spirit and Scripture hold me accountable for the person I say I want to be. And that's harder, but necessary work.

"Search me, O God,
and know my heart,
test me,
and see if there be
any trash that needs hauling away."
Psalm 139:23-24 (Cottage Reno Version)

Each year I read through my journal from the last summer until this.
That's what this is about, mostly.

Avoiding the dangers of living an unexamined life.
The harder work of spiritual formation.
But badly needed.
And I'm so much better for it.

Also, in unrelated news....

I must make the grand announcement that this morning I finally achieved my goal of making it all the way around the island!!! Since I did this 37 times last year, you'd think it wouldn't be such a big deal. But my kayaking was seriously disrupted by recovering from surgery, so today did actually feel like a big ta da moment. Thanks to cousin Janet for accompanying me. It was only a tad breezy in the one spot, a a little dicey in the shallows at one point since the water's so low.

Yay for early morning paddles with ginger snap cookies!

Heading into the last long weekend of the summer season.
Looks like a mix of weather.
Whatever your vibe, I hope the weekend is a great one!!!