Saturday afternoon I was sitting, with my wife, in our living room. I looked for something to watch on TV. PBS was showing “This Old House”. I used to watch that show regularly years ago. As we watched the show, I found myself smiling. It brought back some good memories for both of us.
We had been married for just five years. We had two little ones. My career hadn't taken off yet. But we wanted a house. The fact that we couldn't afford a house did not deter us. We had babies. Babies need a yard. We were going to give them one. The search was on. Everything we looked at was just out of range. That is until a friend mentioned that he wanted to sell his house and told me the least he would accept. He wasn't trying to sell me the house. He was just making conversation. I looked at him and said “sold”.
I called my wife and told her I had just bought a house. As I did this without consulting her there was some kerfluffle, but it all worked out. The day the original owners moved out, I started fixing up that house. I don’t think I ever stopped until we moved out, twenty-four years later.
I could do electrical work and a little plumbing. But I had a couple of neighbors. One was a good plumber and the other was a good carpenter. We all worked on each others houses. We all got to be better at all the trades. But I learned one thing. I loved doing carpentry. It was too late for me to start all over again on a career path but I truly enjoyed swinging a hammer. To continue go to http://patriotupdate.com/articles/if-i-were-a-carpenter/
No comments:
Post a Comment