Josh and I did the right thing (I suppose): We sacrificed a sunny Saturday to do volunteer work at a Boy Scout camp on Vashon Island. It was a beautiful ferry ride over, really gorgeous weather, and the crew of volunteers we joined from Boeing were cheerful. We got nifty light blue t-shirts with ‘volunteer’ printed on the side. Before I knew it I was assigned “Trail Duty,” handed a pair of enormous sheers and a shovel, and sent out to clear out an overgrown trail. Josh disappeared somewhere near the woodpile, his duty called on him in the manliest of ways: Chopping fire wood. For some weird reason, my right foot has been giving me trouble; near the base of the ankle and up over my arch has been aching for a few days. Well I limped toward the trail with my sheers slung over my shoulder I felt like part of a chain gang doing work out in the field. Well honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated. The sun was shining, the woods were surprisingly bug free, and despite a few stinging nettles we were well underway. I hacked and snipped with my giant clippers, my pathetic forearms aching with lack of upper body strength. We broke for lunch a few hours later: tater tots, chicken patty on white bun, carrots, and a brownie. The whole meal was super elementary school cafeteria style. At one point we mused about the authenticity of our chicken patty only to learn that it was entirely meatless (that’s crunchy Vashon Island for you). Josh ate two and still felt no satisfaction. Then it was back out on the trail again, and I found myself significantly less motivated. Sure, I cleared the brush from the path, snipped back crazy wild overgrowth, and tamped down loose soil with my shovel. But, a few times I hiked further down the trail and ended up sitting on a stump by myself contemplating life.
Let me tell you, the sun brought amazing vigor back into my life. Sunday morning, I awoke with eager anticipation: The forecast had predicted a high of 72! We shuttled off to Lowes and bought moss killer, fertilizer, and new garden gloves. I cheerfully tugged at weeds while Josh manned our crappy push mower. I drank iced coffee in copious amounts. I hung laundry on the line–sweet smelling sheets, yippee! I went on a three mile walk down by the lake, (my ankle had mysteriously healed). I met up Brandon, briefly, and drank more iced coffee. Josh and I bought hot dog buns, Hebrew dogs, and Girl Scout Samoa Ice Cream. While I lost Josh to an endless game of Halo, I watched Hobbes chase down several flies and devour them before me, (I suppose it’s better than birds).