Overwhelmed
angela crouse
Sometimes when I walk into these old barns, it’s hard not to be overwhelmed. The expansive height and the weighty beams are really beyond imagination in those first few steps through the barn doors.
Despite the urge to jump right in with assessing and measuring, I take the time to just stand or sit in the loft and absorb it all. I take a moment to imagine the amount of work that went into raising that barn. I can feel countless hours of the crew of workers calculating, moving, sawing, and working together in rhythm to stand these enormous beams upright. The hum of hammers and saws in unison putting the siding on and sealing it tight enough to weather decades of storms, rain, wind and snow.
I take the time to imagine the conversations that occurred here, over coffee or a milk pail, maybe a single lantern or light bulb breaking the darkness before dawn or helping a farm hand during a long night caring for a newborn.
Within minutes, the overwhelmed feeling is gone and I realize that this barn is begging to be used again. Its stories told again in your space. We are working as fast as we can to save these stories before they are gone.