I am a Handy Man- Sort of

Brian's post about a foray into computer repair made me think for a few moments about my own abilities to repair things and do work around the house and car.

I have great admiration for craftsman and people who are able to use their hands to create and repair things, be it carpentry, electrical, plumbing, whatever. There is something very cool about being able to take objects and create something new out of nothing, as well as being able to fix and maintain the items around your home.

If the toilet leaks, fence breaks, sink cracks, car coughs and you can handle the problem yourself it is just a very cool thing.

My father is very good with his hands. As a child I spent years assisting him on household projects and trying to learn how to do what he did. For a long time I had great difficulty doing so because grace and finesse do not come easily to me. I have a body that was built for demolition. If you want to knock down a wall, I am your guy. If you want to remove the stump in your backyard out, call me. But the more delicate tasks were hard, I would strip screws and break things because I had trouble adjusting to the task.

And I found it very frustrating because my father was good at it. Over time my frustration lessened because I began to learn to be patient and I understood that practice would enhance my ability to emulate him and mirror his work.

It has been many many years now since those issues were really hard on me and I have come to really enjoy working with my hands and have a real sense of satisfaction when I am the one who does the work to solve the problem.

One of the things that I have begun doing with my son is enlisting his assistance on simple projects. I love teaching him and watching him learn. We'll see if he takes after me in all ways, I suspect that I am going to have to work with him to teach him how to use his strength appropriately too, but it is going to be a lot of fun for both of us.

So many lessons, important life lessons are learned by doing the hard work yourself. Perhaps I'll add to this post or blog more about this later.