trailer

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Closing Up Shop Is Never A Pleasant Experience

Closing up shop is usually an unpleasant experience for me, although sometimes it isn’t as unpleasant as other times.

closing up shop is never a pleasant experience

When you close something down, there is always a process you go through. 

When I leave the office at the end of the day, I shut down my computer, pack it up, turn off lights, lock doors and make sure the alarm code is set.

Some people have a closing up shop routine when they go to bed at night. You know you make sure the lights are off and the doors are locked. If they have kids in the home, they take a quick peak to check that they are sleeping soundly.

The worse case scenario for closing up shop is when a company is going out of business. When it is winding down its operation. Every step of that process is unpleasant.

Every time we leave our cottage, we have a closing up shop check list.

We go through the list of things that need to be checked off so that we can leave the place safe and secure until we return. 

 We don’t want to leave the refrigerator on if we are not going to come back to the cottage for a month. And it’s important to make sure we’ve locked the shed before we go so no one has access to it.

Closing up shop takes time to complete, but it’s necessary. 

The closing up shop routine that I dislike more than any other is when we leave our cottage for the last time before winter. I dislike it more because there is more to do. It’s a bit like a final closing up shop. It will be five to six months before we come back so it has to be done right. 

One of the things we do to close the cottage up – the last thing before we lock the doors – is to blow out the lines. Water can do a lot of damage if it’s trapped in the lines and then freezes. 

We use an air compressor to push air through all the hot and cold water lines. It flushes the whole system of water so there is nothing to freeze. 

I wish this was a quick process, but with our unusual set up, it takes time. Our system doesn’t have a hot water tank bypass, so as we blow out all the lines, the hot water tank gets flushed as well … and that takes time.  

So as we close up shop, and check off everything on the list, the one thing I’m not looking forward to is blowing out the lines … because once that is done, it really settles in that we won’t be back for a very long time. 

Here’s the thing: It’s nice to keep things open. Closing up shop is unpleasant; there is some finality to it, even if it is temporary. At this particular time, when some people are not attending church because of COVID, be careful not to close up shop on church. It’s not usually a simple decision but a process where you slowly check things off you are done with until finally it’s a done deal. Keep actively participating in church and ministries in person or online. Don’t close up shop.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you closed up in the last few months? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Why You Should Aways Read Labels

It’s always important to read labels on products you’re going to use.

iodine bottle

I remember the iodine bottle we used to have in our medicine cabinet when I was growing up. Even the dark brown colour of the bottle with that rubber eye dropper top made it look like there was danger.

But the real clue that this product was not to be fooled with was the skull and crossbones that was front and centre on the label or stamped right onto the glass bottle.

The bottom line is labels are meant to be read, like, for instance, the stuff I cleaned my trailer with last week. I got a big bottle of “Spray Nine” to clean the outside of our trailer/cottage. The trailer has vinyl siding and this stuff is apparently good for cleaning and even disinfecting.

I poured the liquid from the bottle into a pail. I intended to use a brush with an expandable long handle to scrub the trailer. But as I was about to start, my brother said they just did it by hand. He told me he got up on a ladder and with a cloth cleaned the trailer.

“Well,” I thought, “Okay, I’ll give it a try.” I grabbed a rag, dipped my hand into the bucket and started to work. By that time the bottle with the instructions and warnings had been tossed aside.

I didn’t think of looking at it. I just merrily started to clean. As I did, I periodically nicked my hands and noticed that those nicks kind of stung … which you might think would get me to at least glance at the bottle to see if there were any warnings.

But no, I was on a roll and I wasn’t going to stop to check some label.

I kept moving and completed the project in about three hours. Of course, the first thing I did when I was done was to wash my hands. But three hours in straight undiluted Spray Nine was now wreaking havoc on my hands.

Ladies, forget botox or liposuction, or having the skin on your face pulled back behind your ears. I have an easier solution – just soak your face in Spray Nine for about an hour!

The skin on my hands was so tight, it felt like my skin had shrunk at least one size and now didn’t fit my hands any more.

The little nicks I got from washing the trailer by hand stung constantly for lasted for two days. After about three days, my hands still felt weird but also were a little fuzzy. Apparently, my skin was peeling!

It took about six days before my palms and the backs of my hands stopped shedding and I felt like my skin was back to normal.

My trailer looks great though.

Here’s the thing: Reading labels helps us know how to handle products. In the US, LifeWay Research found that “while 90% of church-goers desire to please and honour Jesus in all they do, only 19% read their Bible every day. In Canada, The Canadian Bible Engagement Survey revealed that only 11% of Canadians read their Bible weekly, down from 28% in 1996. It’s difficult to know how to handle your Christian life without reading the Bible. We need to get better at that.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What kind of a plan do you have to keep yourself engaged in reading the Bible? I’d really like to hear from you; you can leave your comment below.