STILL STANDING!

 What's still standing? Lots of things. The Great Pyramid. The Washington Monument. Your childhood home. The old school. The Western Wall. The old geezer who was at least 100 when you were a kid and here he still is! The Capitol! Hopefully, the laws and foundations of a just and compassionate society. We hope. We pray. We try hard.

 However, right now I am referring to something totally different, something personal that does reflect back on the past year and what we have all been living through. So here it is: the legs of the table that we have built from scratch, other than chopping down the tree and milling it into planks and pieces,  well, they are still standing this morning!

 You have no idea what went into that statement. Piece by piece, the planning, the staining, the fitting so it should be as perfect as two very amateur people could do, the finding and sizing of legs and the positioning - oh, the positioning! The CRACK!! as they fell down yet again and doing it all over again. Our determination was fierce.

 So how did we ever get to this point, that in April of 2021, two city raised people would ever get it into their minds that they could build a table, a small one - but still, a table, though we have yet to put a piece of paper on it! Our confidence is strong, our will greater than some inanimate beautiful wood. So, back to the third month or so of the lockdown. 

We were okay, reading, watching shows, talking with friends, but at some point we said we need to do something different, something to change the pace up a bit, a challenge, but an achievable one. Hence, the first shadowbox. And the next. And the next. And the next. until we were out of items to place in the boxes themselves. So....what now?

 On to bigger challenges. We began refurbishing, diving headlong into the esoteric and beautiful world of woods, domestic and exotic. For those who still look at trees and see only their exteriors, there is a whole world awaiting you, secret worlds of colors and patterns, of glorious and inspiring works of Nature. 

 On to the next step. We bought, found, end tables, side tables, seeking only certain types, experimented with various woods, loved the beauty of old fence and barn woods, and our refurbished tables and projects went out all over this country. The shipping!! Oy!!! But what a feeling of satisfaction, of pride. I, who had not a whiff of an artistic sense of creation, me, who still draws stick figures, created new representations of beauty, renewed the life of old furniture and even had requests. Wow! 

 Fast forward a few months and one can see the glimmer of a strange thought. Why not build a table from scratch? No, not a dining room table, not there yet - if ever- but  a small one, just right beside a chair or bed, or as an accent piece. Nothing too bold, just a simple table. Lord, what fools these mortals be! No such thing as simple to beginners.

 More strange, possibly deranged, thoughts invaded my mind even as my hands were busy with the wood and layout for this table. What about some freestyle creative piece, work done to express whatever, on a blank large piece of wood as a background. I saw such pieces on line and actually had done similar, but on the tops and sides of tables. And ladders and stepladders, on revitalized nail kegs now cane stands. I even made my own recycling holding crates and love them! So, like Dora - we can do it! Yes, we can.

Well, the large piece of wood and some other items were bought yesterday. The table? Well, this morning the legs were still standing!! Yay!! Now to firmly and permanently attach them, brace them, and then try out the table. Oy! The suspense is killing me. But there they are - the legs, standing upright, waiting to carry their share of the load. 

 Lessons to be learned. One - never too old to learn new tricks, to take on new challenges. Two - always look for a way to improve a situation. Three - if my table legs are still standing, then so are we. This country has stronger legs than my table. We are still standing despite the attempts and events of the past five years and ongoing to break us. 

My table is still standing, My legs are standing. The country is still standing, battered, but proud, determined to remain so, take on all challenges, and come through the other side still standing.