It takes many hands

I am fortunate to have so many good friends and local contractors that help me out with projects at the cabins.

On this, the final day of my 2022 season, I’m reflecting on all the projects I accomplished this year with the help of so many. Some were projects on my “wish list” like refinishing wood floors, painting signs, and building a wedding arch. Others were less sexy like moving the electrical lines underground and replacing septic tank covers! Many projects are important to the day-to-day functioning of the cabins but my guests really never notice them.

Contractors are paid, of course, but others are friends that donate their time and skills. To every one of them, I say thank you. In life, pretty much everything is a team effort. We all have special talents, none more or less important, and all needed and necessary. If we’re lucky, together we can create some beautiful things and hopefully have fun and enjoy each other’s company in the process.

Gratitude moves in two directions. It is being thankful and appreciative, but it is also a readiness to return the kindness. Giving back is part of the cycle.

When I look at the cabins, now close to a century old, I think about all the hands that have touched them over the years, starting with the days they were built, log by log. My grandparents did not do it alone but had help from so many friends, family and neighbors.

This quote comes to mind:

A society grows great when men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.