Friday, March 30, 2012

The first week away ...

The last time I spent a week, not involved with a newspaper publication, I was living in Oshkosh, Wisc., working at Menards and studying inside the UW system. Today, I woke up an employee of a dock installation and sales company in Minocqua, Wisc. Life takes a few turns, ey? I am blessed. Blessed to have had the opportunities afforded to me that have allowed me to not just broaden my horizons, but see that there is something in this world everyone is meant for. I know I am not made to run Floe dock systems in and out of the lakes every spring and fall. I know I am not meant to stock Nibco fittings inside the plumbing department at Menards. I know I am not meant to chase cows around a barn yard and run heavy equipment up and down a dirt road from sun-up to sun-down. I was put on this Earth to write. And along the way lend a helping hand to those who need it while keeping my checking account in the black. It's been a crazy, sort of whirlwind week for me here in the Northwoods. Everything I've been for the last seven years has been put on hold, it seems, for a stint of manual labor that's seemingly connected me back to my teenage roots, growing up on the farm. My hands hurt. Muscles I haven't used in a long time are aching. The grime under my fingernails will need an Oral B scrubbing before my falanges return to what they once were and it feels strange to be walking around in my thong sandles as opposed to my chest waders. A Friday morning with my coffe cup, My Morning Jacket radio entering my ears via Pandora Radio and nothing on the agenda for the forseeable future (by that I mean 24 hours). Life is good.

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