Productivity, sort of

One of my (Rollie) goals for sabbatical is to not be lazy and unproductive.  There are 2 main reasons.

1. I find that laziness is not fulfilling, satisfying, or even rejuvinating.  Do you ever have a weekend where you do NOTHING, and find it enjoyable?  I typically find it more enjoyable to get something done even if it is slower paced, or totally relaxing but still purposeful (like chilling with my family in the back yard).
2. Reason # 1 is really a just of subset of the real reason why I shouldn't be lazy on sabbatical.  The real reason:  God didn't create us to be lazy.  He created us to be workers, givers, self-sacrificers.  So, I guess it doesn't really make sense to take 8 week off from what God has created me to do.  So, in light of these 2 reasons (which are really just 1 reason), here is what I've been working on:

Cleaning the garage: wow, I spent from 7:30am to 5:30pm one day last week to completely remove everything (except 2 shelves of Megan's stuff) from the garage, tear out old cabinets, assemble new shelves, vacuum, and replace everything inside.  Megan can now get kids in-and-out of the car without bumping into dumbells and ladders.  Unfortunately I forgot a "before" picture, but here's an "after" picture.

Working on vehicles: I performed maintenance on my motorcycle (required learning how to clean/lube the chain, replace the oil/filter, clean a foam air filter with solvent/oil, and check the intake and exhaust valve clearances).  On the cars I changed the oil, got the leaking water pump fixed (by a professional), and worked out a rear-end collision claim with my insurance company.

Studying: I'm sort of studying for the Fundamentals of Engineering exam which I plan to take in the spring as a precursor to a Professional Engineering license.  I say "sort of" because I haven't been very diligent yet.

Golf: OK, this isn't really productive but it's fun.

Played with kids: yes, I consider this very productive.  A few highlights so far: taking Lydia to gymnastics, going to the Children's museum, and plenty of time wrestling in our living room.  Here are a few photos of playtime:

Planning our trip with Meg: as most of you know she's the planner, but I guess I'm playing the part of input giver and sanity checker.  (By the way, I'm amazed at the sheer volume of stuff that she gets done in a day.  Her to-do-list-notebook is crazy...).  I'm also playing the part of budgeter, which isn't a word but you know what I mean.

Thanks for reading, and I apologize for all the parentheses (but at least there aren't parentheses inside parentheses (because that would be annoying)).  (Sorry, I'm a dork)