How the Big Event Saved My Marriage

OK, well, maybe not “saved”, we’re doing pretty well, but here’s what I mean.

We signed up for the Big Event this year. It’s where a bunch of students come out to your house and do jobs like painting, raking leaves, gardening, etc. They do it every year, and they take 1300 applicants, and use 12,000 students.

My wife heard about this just in time, we only had a couple of days left to get our application in.

We did everything we could to get that application in, even paid a few bucks to park on campus to get the application to the right office.

So, then we decided what we wanted done. We’ve got some nasty wallpaper in the hallway that we want taken down, we want to paint two of the rooms in the house, we need the trim painted in the master bath, we have tons of leaves to be raked up and put in the burn pile, and I want to make a brick path from the front of the house to the garden area.

So, the “foremen” came out and took notes, figured out what tools I had and what they would need, etc. I got a call two days ago that there would be 20 students coming out. Wow. That’s a lot of students.

We bought some sandwich fixin’s, grapes, chips, cookies, made some tea, have water ready, cups plates, all that stuff. We are ready.

Oh, and we taped off the rooms with that blue tape.

So here’s where the “saving of the marriage” comes in.

We’ve been wanting to do this stuff…I’m sorry.  My wife has been wanting me to do this stuff for quite some time. She’s been very patient, and I’ve been very lazy.

I thought I could take this opportunity to make good on all this stuff, and all I have to do it prep the rooms.

Later this afternoon, we are going to have a bunch of stuff done to our house, and my wife is going to be a happy little camper.

There’s this cool thing called “The Five Love Languages“. It’s a book/concept by Gary Chapman and if you are reading this, you should get it. It’s good for your marriage, raising kids, understanding God a little better all sorts of stuff.

So, the love languages are Gifts, Acts of Service, Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch and Quality Time. (take a test here)

My wife’s is “Acts of Service”. Basically, when she hears the lawn mower driving around (with me on it), her “love tank” gets filled up, and everything is “OK”. She feels loved and supported and all sorts of good stuff.

So, I’m thinking her “love tank” is going to be filled to the brim.

OK, so there will be cleanup afterwards and some of the jobs may not get totally done, so I’m not off the hook by any means, but stuff that she’s been wanting done is gonna get done. That’s cool.

So, I’ll come back later and post some more about how it went.

Next year, I’ll keep my eye out and make sure I remind you when it’s coming.

Here’s the big event website.

Oh, I didn’t mention this, but it’s free. I don’t have to pay them anything. In fact, I don’t even need to feed them, but we’re going to. We like college students. They are giving us some of their day, and we thought we would bless them with some food. They will be here from about 10am to 2pm.

I’m gonna get my 7 year old to count how many “Whoops” she hears.

jorge

Allergy Season in the Brazos Valley

OK, so my wife and I have allergies at least twice a year, but we don’t know exactly what it is we are allergic to.

I decided to look around and see if I could find a “trend” to pollen counts in the area. Well, I found some. I’ll see if  can find more info in the future, but for now, I created a chart with the info I gathered. I got the counts from the American Academy of Allergy, Athsma and Immunology. The counting station in town is the Scott and White Clinic…I’m going to call them next to see if they have a record of counts tat go further back than 2007.

After looking at the chart, it looks like for sure my wife is allergic to Weeds (mostly Ragweed) and I am allergic to Trees. My wife is having a real hard time right now with allergies, and I think I remember getting more headaches around April and May this year.

So, keep your windows closed, don’t go out so much in the morning, if you work in the garden, don’t bring the clothes inside, don’t dry clothes out on a line and wear a mask if you are mowing.

Hope this helps.

A&M Holistic Garden

I found this place driving my daughter to Reed Arena when the circus was in town. I took a couple of wrong turns and WOW!

I love gardening. Well, when the plants don’t die on me. Flowers are so pretty and complex and beautiful. Turns out, for the most part, all you have to do is water them.

The Holistic Garden is right in the middle of the A&M campus, right behind the Horticultural Building. I’ve been trying to find a map to the place, but I can’t.

If you take University Dr. past the campus, go under Wellborne Rd., then after about 1/4 of a mile, you’ll see the Large Animal Clinic. Across from that building, there’s a street called Horticulture Drive. Take that roaduntil it “T’s” and take a left, then your first right. Follow that road and you’ll see the gardens.

The garden started in 1985 as a garden science lab, and has grown into an educational resource for the school as well as the community.

Canna lilies in colors I’ve never seen before, Passiflora vines covering several arbors, vertical gardens, Coleus varieties I never knew existed and Hollyhocks taller than my house. They’ve got a gazebo with benches, educational activities and explanations all over the grounds, and a couple of greenhouses to explore.

They really take care of the grounds and the plants.

They have plant sales a few times a year, and some of the money goes to some of the student workers.

Don’t miss this in the spring. It will take your breath away.

Jorge