What is wrong with us?

[N80]

How many of us have jobs? How many of us work hard at our jobs either mentally or physically or both? And then how many of us spend all the work week waiting for the weekend so that we can finally sit back and........WORK?

It took me a few years but I finally got my log cabin in the country finished up, at least to the point that we can enjoy it. Still a little trim work, finishing a couple of closets, etc. But it has a nice wide front porch looking down the hill to a pond and a hardwood ridge across the pond. There are comfortable rocking chairs on the porch and ceiling fans overhead. There is almost nothing in the world as gratifying as sitting on a porch in a rocking chair sipping a beer.

So its finally done and each weekend we can head down to the cabin and rock away and the porch, right? But where will you usually find me? On the porch smoking a pipe? Nope. Usually I'm on my tractor, or messing with the tractor or thinking about what I can do next with or too the tractor. And it isn't just the tractor. Even before the tractor I was always coming up with the next project and usually the next project involved some sort of physical or manual labor. The tractor has definitely made things worse. Bigger toy, bigger projects.

And I'll bet a lot of you are the same way. You have homes in the country or hunting property or estates or hobby farms. And as soon as you finish your day job, you start on the weekend or afternoon job rather than relaxing on the porch. And our wives think we are nuts (unless we are doing their bidding).

Now I'm not complaining. I'm clearly having fun and apparantly you think you're having fun too. But I bet that most of the time, if we were forced to do the things we are doing on the weekend.....we wouldn't think they were fun.

So what's wrong us?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

How many of us have jobs? How many of us work hard at our jobs either mentally or physically or both? And then how many of us spend all the work week waiting for the weekend so that we can finally sit back and........WORK?

Now I'm not complaining. I'm clearly having fun and apparently you think you're having fun too. But I bet that most of the time, if we were forced to do the things we are doing on the weekend.....we wouldn't think they were fun.

So what's wrong us?

I disagree, if I had to only do what I do on the weekends, it still would not become "work" simply because I enjoy it so much. If you enjoy what it is that you are doing, can it ever really be called "work"

 

[EddieWalker]

So what's wrong us?

I spent 13 years with the Teamsters working a job that was M-F and about 60 hours a week. It was what I got used to, but sort of a way to kill time until I could go on vacation, or maybe get away on the weekend.

A few years ago, I quit that job, moved 2,000 miles away and bout a piece of land. I went from dreaming it, to living it. I no longer wish I was anyplace other then where I live. I no longer find myself planning trips to escape my normal life.

I don't have a regular job and I'm dependent on strangers calling me to do jobs for them. There is no security, no future and no gurantee. I would never go back or change anything!!!

What was wrong with me was waiting too long to venture out on my own. I've never worked a day since I quite my job. Now I live adventures and projects. Sometimes I get paid for them, other times I pay for them on my own place. Either way, it's a good life.

Eddie

 

[dmccarty]

George,

I think you are correct. I have two jobs but one primary, bring home the bacon job that takes most of my time. The other one takes time here and there. The job that pays the bill is very time consuming and can be very stressful.

Then we have The Property. Its consumed my free time since 2000. Well I started working on it in 1999 before we officially owned the land. I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel but there is ALWAYS something to do. The wind storm two weeks ago brought down some huge trees. The look to be 36 inches at the stump. I can walk on the truck from the stump to the first fork about 40 feet. Lots of firewood for next season.

But its what I do. I don't care one wit for any sport just one big waste of time as far as I'm concerned. Why go to the gym when I have trees to cut up, firewood to split, buildings to build, mowing to do, fencing to build, property lines to clear, etc.

Most movies are not worth watching and tv programs even with cable/sat are not much better than the movies. We have not watched the ANY of TV show on ABC, CBS, NBC for years. No reason too. I've been spending my nights lately play a computer strategy game when not playing with the kids.

So I get my excercise while working on The Property. And it is on of my "entertainments". Some days I don't want to work and I don't but usually I do. Got too much to do.

Last summer the wife had taken the kids to see some family for the day. I stayed home and worked. At the end fo the day I took a shower, ate dinner, and then went and sat on the porch with a beer and the dog. We just sat there watching the moon come up, the stars pop out, and the deer wandering around. We could here cars to our south heading to town. A few hours later we could the cars heading home. It was very very very NICE.

Later,
Dan

 

[ToadHill]

What's wrong with me? Not a darn thing. I spent over 30 years behind a desk, took early retirement at 54 and haven't spent any significant time inside since then. With a city home and 87 acres in the country I spend my time doing outdoor projects, I leave the inside stuff to Carol.
Repair roofs, thin the Beech out of the woods, cut and split it, take the grandkids for tractor rides. At my age all the good stuff is ahead, time to do what I want not what someone else thinks is important.

 

[thcri]

Ok so how do I get out of this rut

 

[Farmwithjunk]

When I was a kid, I would make fun of my dad for NEVER stopping to rest, NEVER taking a day off, and NEVER considering a vacation. He said spending time around home, working on his little weekend farm, and dealing with us kids was his rest and relaxation.

I personally though he was NUTS!

Then I started working, bought a little farm, had kids, and spent my "free time" around home doing the same exact things I laughed at dad over.

My wife tries to keep an upbeat attitude about working day and night. She refers to our weekend chores as "occupational therapy".

Long story short, I never would have had ANYTHING had I not worked day and night to earn it. Like work or not, it's an essential part of life. I feel blessed for being the type who enjoys a hard days work.

 

[Soundguy]

Yep... very true. The wife and i work 6 days a week. We have a piece of land seperate from our house that we are working up as retirement property.. that usually consumes a day a week of work by itself. Seems like we never settle down to enjoy the fruits of our labor though.

makes ya wonder don't it..

Soundguy

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin George,
Well it looks like you beat me to the punch on this thread ! I was planning on posting a thread titled " Vermont Holiday". Of course I was going to post all the things I did along with pictures over the course of the four days I was actually there ! I had an ash tree come down, had to cut and split that, started repairing my newly inherited disc harrow, did all the maintenance on my Massey, oil,filters grease ...etc. Cleaned out the shed and oh yeah, even had time to sit on the porch for a couple of beers and I do believe I had a campfire.Work not to me it was just a relaxing way to spend some time outdoors !

My wife Kathleen was in NYC taking in a play with our sons girlfriends, she was happy and so was I !

 

[Youare]

I hope there are not too many infected with the same disorder I have. Some would label it as being a workaholic I see it differently, which is probably the first sign of denial.

I work a full time (45+ hour/wk.) job that requires use of both physical and mental capitices. I enjoy what I do, but I look foward to the end of the day and the end of the week so I can go home and work some more.

I find it relaxing to go about the work of cutting the firewood necesary to heat our house, we heat only with wood. There is something about the end of the day of hard work that feels good even if the body aches a little. You do sleep well.

I recently had to be away from home for a week attending a wedding 1200 miles from home. We stayed with some relitives and ended up just sitting around for a lot of time visiting, which I don't mind for a while. I would rather be doing something than just sitting around.

Even going to the ocean for a "day off" involves as much time playing in the waves surfing as possible. One would think at 55 years of age sitting and relaxing would be easier. My wife says it's my German heritage that doesn't know when to quit.

Why own a tractor or power tool that you don't put to use. I'd like to think that people who are active live longer. My mother cut and split 6 cord of firewood the last year she was alive and she was 73.

Randy