Shifting Gears

With the help of my daughters-in-law, we wrapped up the August canning season last week. Pears will come in by Labor Day but that won't amount to much. It seemed strange to not have any canning or freezing to do this week but I was not twiddling my thumbs. I shifted right into the next season along with the children who headed back to school this week. 

My schedule no longer revolves around the school year but each season has its own domestic chores to keep a household running smoothly. When the end of August rolls around it's time to start the fall housecleaning. I begin with scrubbing the front porch and enclosed patio behind the house while it is still warm enough to be slopping with the hose. 

Today was the day to begin with the front porch. I didn't realize until I started scrubbing how much mildew had grown there. It's been a very wet summer and I should have known. I expect I'll find a lot more of the black stuff inside the house as I get to it later. At any rate, the front porch is clean now and looks like it's been to the dentist to get its pearly whites shined.

As I was scrubbing I was thinking about how there's never a time when I have nothing to do. Finish one job and the next one is waiting. Just as canning comes to an end, housecleaning begins. I was reminded of what my my sister-in-law's mother once said. She raised a family of sixteen children and then adopted three more. And after that she kept foster babies until she was 80. Someone once asked her how she managed the work of raising such a large family. Her answer was simple but profound. "Just do the next thing."

Life is a series of things that need to be done in a daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal pattern. What those things are will vary with our age and interests. We can get bogged down and frustrated when there are more things that need to be done than we have time to accomplish. I know because I've been there, done that. But what I couldn't do in one day always waited for the next and eventually it all got done somehow. My mother used to say, "Tomorrow is another day, and if it isn't, it won't matter."

So as we stand on the verge of fall which brings a change of seasons and schedules, take to heart some good advice from two wise women. Just "do the next thing." And if you don't have enough time to finish everything on your list for the day, "Tomorrow is another day, and if it isn't, it won't matter."

August Canning Season

August is rushing by like it can't wait to be over and I'm being pulled along with it. This is always the busiest month for canning and freezing with corn, tomatoes, peaches, and apples in season. Although I don't need to preserve nearly as much as I once did, neither do I have a flock of children to help. Besides, I'm older and slower so it takes me longer to do a smaller amount by myself. This year it's taking even longer because Rheumatoid Arthritis is slowing me down even further.

I was doing very well for several years but now the RA has flared up and stubbornly refuses to respond to the medication. So I'm hobbling around on swollen ankles and with fat fingers that don't have their normal strength. 

I am constantly asked if the weather affects the RA. The answer is no. It is not like other kinds of arthritis that comes from wear and tear. RA is an autoimmune disease and all the home remedies and potions will not help. It is incurable but the symptoms can be treated with medication. I am going to see the doctor again tomorrow and hope we can find something to knock it down.

The blessing in all this is that my children noticed the difficulty and the daughters-in-law are pitching in to get my canning and freezing done.  The beginning of the month Amy came and helped do the corn. One of the big four chalked off! I managed to get the peaches done by myself last week. Tomorrow Kelly is coming to help do the applesauce. And Velma offered to can some green beans and spaghetti sauce for me when she does hers. That will bring me to the finish line in a hurry. I will do a few quarts of pears yet but that won't be a problem. 

It's such a blessing to have my sons marry women who can see the need and know how to pitch in and help. I'd rather be on the giving than the receiving end of things but sometimes you just have to be a gracious receiver. This is one of those times and I'm thankful for the help. Lord willing, this will pass and I can be on the giving end again.