Raising the barn

In my real life the other day someone asked if I ever got bored writing my blog. She said it had been going for so long, "haven't you said all you wanted to say by now?"  Erm, no, I'm not bored with it. It feels like a friend that I sit down and share my life with. How can one be bored with that. Besides, I'm not one for boredom, I'm not sure it exists in my world. If it does, I haven't noticed it yet.

Sharing ordinary life with like minded people makes me happy. All of us together, all over the world, make hundreds of loaves of bread every week, we make beds, we wipe noses, change nappies/diapers, sweep, make cheese, soap and candles and we grow food, tend gardens and chickens, as well as other livestock. We're not meeting for coffee in the mall, we're not able to pass some eggs over the fence. The best we can do with our geographical isolation and separation from each other is to blog and write about what we do. From here we send the signal out - this is what I'm doing today. Are you okay out there? What are you doing?

Blogs aren't about one person. Blogs connect us.

I am interested in what other people who work in their homes do. I want to know how you spend your day, I want to know your routines, I want to look at photos of your home, family and meals. I want to share your celebrations and challenges. Seeing how you work, understanding how you made your home productive and comfortable, motivates me and makes me want to work alongside - even though we're far apart.

It reminds me of an Amish barn raising. Alone, it's too difficult, but together, when one friend joins in and another comes along, then another, we all move forward, some faster than the others, some doing it differently, some remaining traditional, some learning, some teaching, but together we raise that barn. We all know that not every day is a good one. When crops fail, when people and pets die, when it rains for days and doesn't let up, when the cat vomits on the kitchen floor, when we feel tired and today it's just too much, those are the days when sharing the load with others keeps us going.

On those days I look for the blog with the perfect loaf of bread, or a baby taking her first step, or chicks hatching or any blog where I see the good life is being lived. If it's still out there, I know it will be back at my place soon and everything will be right again. So no, I haven't said all I want to say yet and I'm not bored.

Okay everyone, let's get the barn up again today.