We Unpack Old Friends

Since disappointing Friday was a biodynamic "blocked out" day (meaning, it wasn't good for fruit, flower, leaves, or roots: a day better to stay home), and Saturday was more of the same, Phil and I decided to work on our living space, rather than something in nature.

For two years, Phil has had no access to one of his filing cabinets, and since the second filled, he has been gradually drowning in an ever growing flood of papers. The flood of papers has gradually covered all surfaces, until he had a limited walkway to his desk, and a limited patch on his desk in which to work.

We had inexplicably put a dresser full of random toys, art supplies, and puzzles next to his desk. Although it was fairly easy to access, we didn't use those toys much. Some have gone into deep storage, some have gone in the trash, and some will go off the farm. Then we removed the now-empty dresser, emptied the office of many banker boxes and the man-cave recliner (buried these many months past), and moved the filing cabinet out into the open.

This allowed Phil to sweep and mop his floor, too.

Even better, from my perspective: by consolidating various boxes of Playmobil and Lego, and by removing rarely worn "fancy" shoes from a shelf in the bedroom, I opened up about eight linear feet of shelf space! I can fit many books in eight linear feet! With the office trailer opened up, I took advantage of moving several boxes of well-beloved books out of storage.

The story of our life here sometimes seems like a search for more bookshelves. We have Calvin and Hobbes in the bathroom, next to the sheets.

And now we have just about all of the six Sonlight Cores we've already done out on display. This is a great relief, because invariably, as I've tried to make room for our books, I will pack up a box of books that seem to get less play, only to have a son ask for a now missing book.

I actually got teary, seeing some old friends again. Even without time to sit and read these treasures, I was happy to have a more full expression of myself there on display, where I could look at them at will.

The boys, too, had a happy day. Phil found his box of old GI Joes. They vaguely remembered those little action figures, and, about once a month, ask if we could get them out. I feel a bit inundated with plastic toys with many pieces, between Duplos, Legos, and Playmobil in 224 square feet (not that they play with all at once, but even storing those various toys can be tricky), but they were so happy to have that new box, I could hardly begrudge them their pleasure.

And Jadon found an unopened box of K'Nex, from one or two Christmases ago. Since it makes a 5'3" roller coaster, I had never let him open it (see previous paragraph). But he came up with the idea to build the toy in the cattle trailer, and worked the 1300 piece construction set diligently until bath time, even bringing out a headlamp when the sun went down.

So it was a great day, a much welcome break.

For the record: bath time is quite necessary on the farm. Sometimes the little boys like to wash only half, so they can compare legs or arms to see which is more clean. The difference can be quite stark.