A carpenter is hired- a roof repaired, a porch built. Everything that can be fixed. June, July, August. Everyday we hear their laughter. I think of the painting by van Gogh, the man in the chair. Everything wrong, and nowhere to go. His hands over his eyes.

Mary Oliver
About This Quote

As the summer progresses, the work of the carpenter becomes more and more noticeable. He’ll have to repair a roof, build a porch, or paint a wall. Eventually, he won’t be able to do any of that work. However, there are other activities that are necessary even during these busy times.

As summer comes to an end, so too does the carpenter's work. However, his position of importance remains. This is the lesson we can learn from van Gogh: life is not always what we want it to be, but we must choose to make it better than we expected.

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