Today was the day that I haven't been looking forward to. The day when we ran out of firewood. Our primary heating source for our home is a woodburner in the basement. If we didn't heat with wood, then we would be running electric base-board registers which would significantly increase our monthly electric bill. Since the weather was in the 50's today, I arrived at the office early to finish up my work for the weekend and then Corban and I made our way to my parents property to cut a half a load of wood.
Our family loves the warmth that a fire bring to the house. On some of the really cold days in January and February, when the temperatures were -10 to -15 degrees, that woodburner in the basement kept the house at 70 degrees plus. Our family stayed warm, but the wood doesn't cut itself, load itself, stack itself, and end up in the fire all by itself. It takes work.
This has always been a tricky area with me, as we have burnt wood as our primary heat source for six years now. With Marfan syndrome I have to be very careful in how hard I push my body. It's interesting that using the chainsaw at a normal pace doesn't wear me out too much. Even the bending down and cutting the trees on the ground isn't too bad.
What absolutely destroys my body is the loading of the wood. I can't figure out why, but when I bend down and pick up the wood off the ground to load them up, that drains me. Last year I pushed myself so hard loading one day that I could hardly function for two days. I hopefully learned my lesson.
So today when I was cutting wood I took my time. I cut all I needed and then Corban and I loaded it. No rush. I rested if I needed to and was able to accomplish the task at hand without exhausting myself in the process. (Although we did get a little wet) We now have enough wood for the next couple of weeks to burn during the night since the temps are still near freezing at night.
It can be difficult with a condition that limits what you can and can't do. My heart and mind tell me that I should do more, but my body often puts the brakes on that and then I make sure I don't overdue it.
This winter the two oldest kids, Michaela and Corban, did almost all of the hauling of the wood from the pile at the back of the yard to the house. Neither of them have Marfan Syndrome. The two boys with Marfan syndrome would typically take the pieces that were brought into the house over to the fire. It would only be 15-20 pieces max, but even with Marfan's, they still needed to be able to help and feel useful. All of our kids have chores and responsibilities because, regardless of Marfan's, they need to learn how to work, how to be responsible, and how to take care of others.
Parent your children to prepare them to succeed regardless of the limitations that may present themselves. It's incredible the life lessons one can learn (and teach) by cutting a load of wood.
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