Dad used to have them.... And it bugged me. He would forget or mislay a tool or pencil somewhere and spend time looking for it when he "Just had it!" Whenever I helped Dad with some job, My job was to basically hand him tools and make sure he could find them after he set them down. You would think that is not really an important job... I mean, Even a 7 year old can do it. But looking back now, I sometimes wish I had a second set of hands to help me. If nothing else, than to keep me from losing things "I just had!"
And so I have been thinking how every every time now, when I misplace something, I call it out:
"I'm becoming my Dad!" And there is nothing I seem to do that can help it.
And that does not seem like such a bad thing.
Mom used to yell at us all the time and tell us we were "Just like your Father!" And in case you were wondering, it was never in a good way. (She would also point out how much we were like her whenever Eric or I would do things "Right.") And Dad would often prove, in small ways, Mom's point. He would forget this or that. And he certainly had his flaws.
But he did thing that I now think were GREATLY unappreciated by Mom. Looking back, I find it rather sad that she never seemed to notice those things. Those little "fix it" projects that he would take on with a mysterious internal knowledge of how things worked and how things were put together. He was an electrician! Not a plumber or Carpenter or Mechanic.... And yet he did all of these things to a positive outcome. And this was before YouTube!
So Dad was actually pretty Awesome! And he managed to go through life... Bumbling his way along with all of his flaws and still managed to keep a roof over our heads , the lights on, the water running, and the cars functional. And this was before YouTube!
And so it goes that I find myself following in his footsteps. Mostly the ones were he bumbles and fumbles with things. I forget my tools in the other room. Forget where I was going, Forget what I was going to do next. "Why am I at Menhards Again? I know there was something I needed....."
For a More recent Example: I went to Church last Sunday.... And I wore my baseball hat inside. And I didn't notice until I had sat down in the Pew!
Now you may be thinking that that is not a big deal. Until you realize I was wearing a suit!
Oh come now! God doesn't care how you dress. Adam and Eve were Naked in the Garden of Eden, after all.... But still, it can be a little embarrassing after you realize your social faux pas! And that reminds me that that is something Dad would have done. Am I destined to follow in his footsteps?
Well, it does make me chuckle sometimes. And I remember how it bugged me then. And it still bugs me now! But now, instead of watching him, I have to watch myself! I wonder if He had those moments and thought about Grandpa Allen.
All that to lead into what I have been doing the last couple days. I have been working on building back the Sub-subfloor. And I took a lot of pics n how I cut out this section of plywood to fit the zig-zaggy hole I made Sunday. But it is getting late and my Goal is to finish up the Subfloor tomorrow before I heard out to work. I still have a small section of Sub-sub floor to fill in, And hopefully, with the subfloor fully finished, I will be able to begin work on the actual floor on Thursday!
That is a lot of flooring layers to chat about. But bear in mind, I have never done this before. And I am constantly thinking about how or what will go wrong if I don't instal things properly. Eventually I have to stop thinking and actually do something. I just want that something to be good.
And I'm sure it won't work out exactly as I envisioned. But that is ok as long as it works and looks presentable. It doesn't help that I have those "Dad Moments" tossed in along the way. Personally, I wish I could have one of those Good "Dad Moments" where he knew exactly what to do and how to fix it.
And instead of an insult, I would take Mom's accusation as a Compliment. Dad was a frugal DIY-er who welcomed doing things and building things his way. And when he finally got Mom out of the house, He was able to renovate it to a level that was almost unrecognizable! I lived in that house for nearly 25 years and it was always in a state of unfinished or "perpetual renovation." Mom complained about the noise and smell of "Chemicals" whenever Dad would try to fix things. Or she would tell him he was doing it wrong and that it should be done this way or that way. Which means it never got completed.
But with her gone, Dad was able to unleash his true potential and skill set. I can only hope that I can follow in those footsteps while living here. In the few years I have left. And try to make ever second count.
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