De and Daughter #1 are off at our annual church Ladies Retreat. It's an over-nighter at a small semi-local hotel/conference center. They bring in a speaker and music leader and have a wonderful time starting late Friday afternoon running through late Saturday afternoon. De has considered this a "must-do" event for many years, and I know its a great spiritual 'recharge' for her. That means I had a quiet evening yesterday and I am certain I was in bed looooong before she was.
I try not to be one of the "husband horror stories" where wives come home to dirty dishes in the sink, dirty clothes on the floor, trash and clutter strewn about the house, and a husband wondering "what's for supper". I hear that those get told and retold with relish at the following year's retreat. To keep my name off the "naughty" list I've been doing chores most of the day. I went out and got a weeks worth of groceries, did all the dishes and put them away, emptied the trash and took it down to the end of the driveway, picked up all the clutter (that a man notices), tried to make the place look welcoming and peaceful to tired ladies instead of chaotic and disastrous, and shoveled the slush off of the entryway patio pavers.
When the house was in order I turned to on the outdoor chores, but this time of year it's mostly caring for the chickens, who don't care much for winter. I think today is chicken conundrum day. We still have five or six inches of snow on the ground, but its a beautiful sunny and warm (for January) day with temps running just under 40F. I did promise some winter photos of the place, and here they are:
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| This is about as "out" as the chickens have been in a week. |
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| It's not hard to tell where the centers of winter activities are. Many of those tracks are Zyla the Dog's. |
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| Looking at the more pristine scene on the North side of the homestead. |
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| Before my Dad passed, he planted the field behind our house in trees: Alternating rows of pines and hardwoods. |
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| Wild blackberries grew up on one of those rows. Yum! (In the summer) |
De and Daughter #1 are rolling in, so I'm off to greet them. Most things that happen at the Ladies Retreat stay at the Ladies Retreat, but they'll be some stories to hear and I'm looking forward to hearing all about it. I am blessed!
Col. 1:9-12,
Mark
This is De - for the record, Mark has never been one of "those" husbands who couldn't handle making dinner or caring for our children or any of the other things that wives sometimes complain about. God has richly blessed me in this marriage to the man that I choose to love (because love is not a feeling.) :-)
ReplyDeleteSomehow I had the feeling you weren't "one of those husbands," Mark! I'm lucky (or maybe the better word is blessed) as De is in that many times when I rush off for a morning of errands or a gal's get together, I come home to find breakfast dishes done, the wood supply restocked and a warm and cozy house with a husband who always tells me he missed me. And it's all because of you guys who are so kind and considerate!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Loved seeing the pictures of the property.