When Luck Comes, You Are Ready
Hello Friends-
Our seventh annual MapleFEST was a smash success. The sun shone brightly down all day long and people wandered around in T-shirts, reaching their faces to the warmth like a flower to soak up the delicious rays. All day long visitors came walking down the driveway to the carriage house, stopping along the way to pick up a plate full of piping hot pancakes, or to get their face painted like a tiger or dinosaur. Some of them took part in silkscreening their own MapleFEST T-shirts, while others hung around by the crafts tables to finger knit or make “God’s Eyes” from sticks and yarn. There was some amazing music playing throughout the day, and more than a few people seemed content to while away the afternoon sitting swaying to the sweet sound of fiddle, banjo, and guitar. Tall-tales and fantastic yarns were spun to the infinite joy of wide-eyed gatherings of children. Adults and children sat on hay bales to watch the sap boil down to syrup at the evaporator, and filed down the dirt trail to the creek in a non-stop flow of visits. Our backyard was filled with kids skipping, rolling, tagging, and laughing. By the end of the day nearly 500 people had visited us, and the it felt like every single one of them had a great day!
I always liked the quote by Michael Caine: "Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath." It reminds me of Ernest Hemingway’s line from Old Man and the Sea, “It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.” The sentiment is related and they both apply greatly to the MapleFEST this year. The event was blessed with the luck of beautiful weather, and appeared to simply run on its own. The whole day went as smooth as silk, as slick as a whistle. None of it would have happened, however, without some intensely difficult and demanding work from our parents before and during the event that paved the way for us to take advantage of the good weather. When the sun came, they were ready for it, having paddled like crazy for months in advance to put on a picture perfect MapleFEST.
Our deepest gratitude to the lead MapleFEST duck and hardest paddler, Vicki Vergolina, who put in untold hours and hours of work to help us create a fantastic day. Vicki and the other incredible members of the Parent Group met countless mornings at the kitchen table and then dispersed out into our community to do the infinite amount of little things that make MapleFEST a reality. Our thanks to all of you!!
Be well,
Ben