Jeanne-ology: Rebecca Was Right

Hey There - it’s already Thursday, so Jeanne is in charge of tonight’s blog. This has been a whirlwind of a week at PJP (both Buttonwood and Nifong locations). I’ll let her explain. Enjoy!

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Well, it is Thursday again! One day seems to roll into another when you are busy. The weeks fly by and before I know it, fall will be here. I think the older I get, the faster time goes by. On the other hand if I am not busy, then I am bored and time moves slow. Time seems to be an enemy or a friend, it depends on so many things. (Rebecca editing to add: Someone please cue up a Simon & Garfunkel playlist, preferably starting with “The Sound of Silence”).

To bring you up to date, I LOST THE BET with Rebecca concerning the woodworking project. My husband and I arrived early on Sunday morning, unloaded all the tools we needed, set up a work table, and we were ready to go. Our first inkling that things were wrong was when none of the electrical outlets worked! We tried the breaker box, no help. I contacted Rebecca and she sent me the phone number of our contractor. I texted him and waited for a response. Two hours later we were still waiting for a response. (Later I learned he was out of town and didn't get the text, fair enough). Eventually, Rebecca and the family stopped by and my son-in-law worked on the problem and presto, we had power! Whew! It was now after 2 pm and Rebecca wanted to take a picture of a board nailed to wall. Just put one up and nail it, she said. You just can't nail up a board in a random space, you need to plan out the design! She famously rolled her eyes and she and the family left. My husband and I started to work. We had more problems with board layout and should we start at the top or the bottom? About 4 pm, I lost it! I started putting things away and announced we were finished for the day. I needed wine immediately and we needed to go! My husband didn't say a word but begin helping me clean up and we went home. I called Rebecca on the way home. When she answered, she was excited and wanted to know how did the project work and did we finish? I was honest and told her not one piece of lumber was put into place. (Rebecca editing to add: Oh goodness. I definitely would have just nailed a board to the wall without much planning, mainly because I have no patience for that sort of thing. Clearly.)

Monday morning we arrived early and all I will say is that the whole project went downhill from there. There are a lot of reasons why and I am not going to list them out. All I can say is that my husband and I are too old to accomplish what we think we can. Rebecca called later and said the team doing the trim carpentry work offered to finish our project for us and did I want them to? Are you kidding me? YES, YES, YES was all I could say. (Rebecca editing to add: Actually, I’m still surprised how easily she acquiesced to my suggestion because I was prepared for battle. Also, it was so hard not to remind her how right I was about the whole project.)

During the rest of this week, Rebecca has reminded me that she was right and I never listen. She is right - my heart has the desire but my body doesn't agree. I really wanted to finish that project and sometimes it is sad to think your body cannot keep up with your dreams. (Rebecca editing to add: In my defense, I was pretty good about not reminding her I was right on the first day, but as she kept coming up with other projects to do, I had to remind her that SHE NEVER LISTENS TO ME.)

It has been exciting visiting PJP Nifong everyday this week to see what the trim carpenters have finished. Today, they installed the iron garden gate that has been in our store since the beginning. It looks more beautiful in the new location. They also took some other items from our store and now PJP Buttonwood looks lonely and a little bare. That is okay because I know a new journey is about to begin. (Rebecca editing to add: Watching that gate leave our store made me realize that turning the lights off at PJP Buttonwood for the last time won’t be easy on us. In our defense, I feel like we’ve left part of our soul in that space over the past 65 months and that makes it sacred space.)