On Being a Farm Wife (and other hazard Joyce Bupp Man, I was really feeling boxed In the shadowy atmosphere of the place, the ceiling seemed omi nously low, the walls confining. Tiny windows allowed the en trance of light, but the day out side was misty, dark, and, like ADAMSTOWN EQUIPMENT, INC. BOWMANSVILLE RD ADAMSTOWN, PA 19501 (717)484-4391 A 00280 24 54279 the inside, overall gloomy. Into this environment I had thrust myself, intent to take on this gloomy interior on this gloomy day and bring some brightness and sunshine to the dark, oppres sive space. LANDIS BROTHERS, INC. 2710 MOUNT JOY ROAD MANHEIM, PA 17545 (717)653-2340 Standard on many John Deere models JThe Single Source 2 Year Bumper lo Bumper Warranty on all new John Deere Commercial Mowers covers (he entir* machine except lor normal wear items like batteries and ores toiler valid Ma ch I 2003 through Inly 7 2003 and is snhieci io approved credit on John Deere Credit Revolving Plan a service of FPC Financial Is b For consumer and commercial use no down payment required Alter promotional period finance charge will beg nto accrue at 99% APR A SOSO per month minimum may he required For qualified buy ers only Taxes height and setup may increase monthly payment Other special rates and terms may be available including installment financing Available at participating dealers ''Comparison excludes otner John Otero Company products But the boxed-in feeling per sisted. Tackling our attic is not on my short list of preferred things to do. It’s not even at the end of my long list of preferred things to do. Nevertheless, there I was, square in the middle of the dark, dusty, fourth-floor of our house, lacking even the amenity of a light for better visibility. Two very small windows at each end provide daytime lighting, which on a bright sunny day is ade quate. But on this gloomy, dark, rainy afternoon, under our heav ily-canopied maple trees, the attic had all the cozy ambience of a candle-lit cave. Push had come to shove on this dank afternoon, too wet to work in the garden or yard and POLE TAVERN POLE TAVERN EQUIPMENT SALES CORP. EQUIPMENT SALES CORP. 301 NORTH WHITE 670 ROUTE 40 HORSE PIKE ELMER, NJ 08318 HAMMONTON, NJ 08037 (856) 358-2880 (609)704-9440 " Lancaster'Farming: Saturday, May 17, 2003-B9 with a deadline of sorts looming. Someone, someday, was going to have to tackle this mess. It might as well be me, now, rather than someday when I am unable to run up and down the stairs. And I really don’t Want to leave it for the kids despite the fact that much of it is theirs. But plans for an upcoming yard sale loomed. In fact, the promise of a rainy, dark weekend had actually postponed the planned extended-family yard sale, offering the perfect push to tackle the attic. Now, our attic holds no family heirlooms or treasures or even slightly valu able stuff. What our attic abounds in, I discovered, is boxes. There are big boxes and little boxes. Square boxes and odd shaped boxes. Holiday boxes in decorative colors, mostly red and green, some shiny and glittery. We have packing boxes com puter boxes, printer boxes, win dow fan boxes, appliance boxes. There are gift boxes, handsome, square and shiny white. Well, they were shiny white at one time. Reality is, these boxes accumu lated for years, in the good old family characteristic that we might have use for them some time. And, some we have, for Christmas, birthdays, special oc casions. But usually, they are too big or too little or too inappropri ate. Or too dusty and bird-dirt speckled, because I do occasion ally open the attic door usually in the summer and have a sparrow fly out over my head. I marched back down two sets of stairs, grabbed a broom, a dustpan, reclimbed the stairs and VALLEY AG & TURF, L.L.C. VALLEY AG & TURF, L.L.C. 817 TOBIAS RD WATSONTOWN EXIT I 180 HALIFAX, PA 17032 WATSONTOWN, PA 17777 (717)362-3132 (570) 538-3557 began tackling the accumulated floor dirt. Several years ago, a bumper crop of dried flowers landed in the attic for future use, tied in bunches and hung from the sloping rafters. Unused bunches have deteriorated into bits and pieces littering the floor, along with a liberal scattering of styrofoam packaging pieces. The occasional bird didn’t help, ei ther. Then, it was on to the boxes. Small boxes got squished into bigger boxes. Those were shoved into even bigger ones, and then I squashed them into the giant computer packing boxes. And began lining box-filled-boxes at the top of the stairs for disposal. Then, it was on to the bigger challenge: filled boxes. Several of the largest, hold items stored there years ago by our daughter, who happens to be the yard sale planner. One of the bonuses of accumu lating years in one’s life is that, once in awhile, you can turn the tables on your kids. Her boxes, filled with her stuff, will be most of my contribution to her yard sale. And most likely her kids will find stuff they absolutely want to keep. Like a stack of games. Old toys. The last box of children’s books. A small child’s chair or two. Best of all, our attic will hold less stuff. One thing, for sure. There are plenty of boxes to stash it all in for moving. Now, if I can convince the grandkids that they really need their uncle’s old, sprawling, toy train layout, the attic afternoon will have been a resounding suc cess. And, I’m not feeling nearly as boxed in anymore.
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