I’m a lumberjack and I’m OK

Over recent years I have progressively done less and less in the garden, handing over responsibility to a firm of landscape gardeners.  However since the storms of a few weeks ago I have had a few fallen trees lying across my lawn, so this weekend I put on my garden clothes and braved the Belgian drizzle to set about dealing with the problem.

I started by taking down my prize chainsaw from its shelf in the shed (mostly to impress visitors) and picked up the brand new axe I purchased in an optimistic moment.  Something stirred me on, perhaps it was the combination of my lumberjack shirt and 501 jeans my trusty working boots with their steel toe caps, or maybe it was because it was my wife’s and my 21st. anniversary and I wanted to impress her with my manly prowess?  Whatever, the result was that I cut up the trees, I split the logs and I stacked them neatly in the wood shed ready for burning in the winter of 2014/15.

The irony of the situation is that I am currently writing a key note speech on ‘Beyond Borders’ for the PMI’s annual Benelux gathering in October and the way I feel right now is that I have this weekend witnessed the buzz of pushing myself beyond my own perceived physical border.

I have challenged my own fear of chainsaws and axes and hard physical work.  I have put aside my reoccurring back problems and told myself “I can do this”.  And what do I have to show for it?  A happy wife, a clear lawn, a nicely piled, sweet smelling, stack of split logs and only a few minor aches in my arms and shoulders and my back is just fine! 

All I have to do now is write an apologetic e-mail to the PMI event organizers asking for a delay in submitting my speech for another seven days.  

Have a good week,

Harley

The lumberjack song :-)