And Other Duties As Assigned...

Human Resources sure is smart when they add that ity bity clause in your job description:

And Other Duties As Assigned.

very smart.

Today was one of those "other duty" days.  

If you remember waaay back a few summers ago my office hosted a field school.  Our Civil War era tent has been great for activities like this and it's usually dragged out several times a year for outreach programs.  I love the tent.  I just adore replicas of old things, especially the Civil War. It's really not that old of a tent, only 5 or 6 years, but it has that old smell to it.  The canvas retains the smells of the outdoors and its been rained on countless times.  The light is soft and yellow under the beige canopy and it always makes my mind wander to the past.

Unfortunately our dear little tent has seen better days.  Its been stretched and pulled and is no longer crisp and clean.  Several large tears have started to effect the integrity of the tent.  I had bought a repair kit awhile back but no one ever had the time to sit down and patch up the holes. Last weekend the tent was up for another outreach event and it became clear that those tears needed to be tended to.  I'm not sure how I ended up with the job.  Maybe it was my magnificent sewing skills that my mom taught me.  Or maybe someone thought, "Oh, that tent is old and Kate takes care of old things". Regardless, it fell under my "other duties'.  I'm pretty sure Repairing Replica Civil War Tent is not on my job description.

I spent many hours today sewing up the tears and holes under the chickee behind the museum.  I have to admit, it was quite peaceful and again my mind wandered to the soldiers having to sit and do the same thing.  My fingertips were raw by the end and I know a few drops of my blood ended up on the fabric.  Its not very easy to sew through thick canvas.

I looked down at my stitches and was slightly embarrassed   They were not the tiny graceful stitches my mom makes, each one the same size and distance.  These were crooked and ugly.  But in the end I think even my slanted stitches will hold this little tent together for a few more years  *luckily there was also glue in the repair kit!  

As I continued sewing, the cool afternoon breeze billowed under the stretched out tent.  It was quiet and all you could hear was the prick of the needle, the thread pulling through. Up and down, up and down.  My job is consistently one thing, and that is, it is never boring.  Those "other duties" just add character to my job, right?  Kind of like the day I found myself out in a pasture looking at a giant dead alligator and being asked, "So...how are we going to get this back to the office?" But that's a story for another day!

:)