38

You grab a log in each hand and walk them over to the pile, making a careful stack this way and that just like your parents like it. As the quiet minutes tick on, you feel the elastic warmth of exertion building in your arms, legs and back. Who needs calisthenics? [+Conditioning]

The logs are every shape, size and thickness, and it's a tricky bit of engineering to keep the stack stable. But you're wise enough to gauge the balance carefully with each new addition and resist the temptation to get over-hasty, especially as the height climbs up the wall.

You note an appreciative "Hmm!" over your shoulder as you carefully put the last two logs in their places. McKenna gestures towards the pile with her chin. "Can't say I was looking forward to doing that grunt-work," she says.

She leaves it at that, but her undertone of appreciation is plain as the sweat on your face. [+Family]

Onward