Wood Cutting

Mike here.  A year ago we learned Dad's leukemia had come out of remission, and I headed down for a Neffs visit.  It's been an eventful last year.  The search for donor continued and proved fruitless.  But, Zacc and I were thrilled to be able to donate to Dad thanks to how far the bone marrow transplant techniques had come allowing two half matches to donate.  Relatively, Dad flew through the transplant and now seems to be dealing with most every possible complication.  It's a good time to take stock and think about how much has been accomplished this last year through courage, grit and love.  Mom and Dad continue to face leukemia as one.

So what's with this video?  Last February, Dad and I moved some cut wood from the edge of the hedgerow around the house and to the wood pile near the basketball hoop.

Cutting, hauling and burning wood has always been big for us.  Mom can never be warm enough.  I remember her wearing wool sweaters to August soccer tournaments.  She has nightgowns with small holes burned into them where she practically sat on a stove as the chimney needle headed for the red zone.  So a good part of our childhood was spent keeping the Neffs wood pile at the ready.

We'd go up to the Poconos for a weekend with an empty truck, and spend Saturday walking around as Dad picked dead trees to take down.  He'd plan how he wanted it to come down and begin work with the chainsaw.  As we got older, we enjoyed spending this time together and proving our new found teenage strength hauling the wood out Dad had just taken down.  Seth being Seth couldn't wait to work the chainsaw himself and got around to it in his later teens.  Zacc and I weren't as interested or as I like to think weren't as dispensable.  But, I do remember one day as Seth and Dad had a meeting of the minds over which way to take a tree down, I decided to look at the sky.  Still, I can lose myself in pretty deep daydreams doing this especially if I get to "twitch" my hands... long story.  All of a sudden the tree came down a few feet from me and I snapped out of it, my eyes went down the length of the tree to Seth and Dad and base laughing.  It really was all good fun.

Now, all I hope for this summer is some more time cutting wood with my brothers and Dad.  We get done and head back to the cabin were Mom's got a nice big dinner ready and now our wives, children, and girlfriends are waiting as well.  There's plenty of beer and bourbon to go around as we finish our meal.  And then we go out on the lake deck with some more beer and bourbon to watch the stars, tell stories we all already know and listen to Johnny Cash, Loudon Wainwright III, Warren Zevon, Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt, cousin Josh, and Kris Kristofferson among others.

Dad, we look forward to having you back on your feet, cleaning your chainsaw, and cracking jokes as we do all the heavy lifting.  We know this last year has been tough, and I just keep thinking of Townes Van Zandt singing "To live is to fly, both low and high."  We love you.