October 12, 2008
I am not really good at dedicating lengths of time towards play. Annie and I play in between activities that are more like work, but I have never been really good about taking a large block of time (days) and just playing. I constantly think about the work that has to be done. When I picked up Annie today, her maternal grandparents asked if I had made any progress on the bathroom. I responded with the fact that the bathroom is on hold until the chicken coop is done. Annie commented that we have a lot of projects to do around the house. She is not wrong...
I have wondered at times if I am negatively impacting her with all the work we have to do. At times like today, I do not think so. We moved the beams for the chicken coop up today, and leveled one into place. She was a great help sliding pieces of wood under the beam and checking the level for accuracy. Afterward, she drilled the holes for the bolts in the boards that will form the end caps. Annie and I share a lot of learning traits. She watches, then she does, and figures out the nuances that way. The 2x8s were on saw horses, which were a bit tall for her to get her muscle on the drill, so I had to help push, but she was all over it. I had her choose the bit, and went through how to choose the bit so this bolt would slide through the board. With help, she picked the bit, and I put it in the drill. I drilled the first one, and she watched me with an expression of complete absorption. The first six holes, I cleaned out the hole with the bit, and she always checked the holes to make sure the bolt slid through properly. After that, she said she wanted to do 'that part,' too. 'That part' being the cleaning of the hole. So, from that point on, she finished out the holes, and did a spectacular job.
A very good friend of mine once asked me why I put time in to a vegetable garden. Granted, we have not done that in two years, but we are very skilled at horticulture. My friend suggested that for many of our vegetables it would be probably cheaper to buy them when the time involved was considered. I was in shock. For me, there are few things more personally encouraging than seeing something I have worked on come to fruition, and even conclusion. His response to that answer was that I would be one of the few that would survive if everything went to heck, and we had to rely on that sort of function to survive. Well, in light of recent events in our economy, I think we might be really close to that. I have watched Annie's college fund dwindle to nothing. I do not know if my retirement fund will recover. That said, I have a phenomenal job. I make a good living, and we can do the things we need to. We just have to work hard to make things happen the way we want.
Annie will grow up knowing how to do everything necessary to manage a home. She will never look at tools with trepidation. If it has to be done, she'll do it. That is my gift to her. She will be one of the most independent women I have ever met. I am sure of it. Her choices will be made strictly from her heart with the requisite balance of the mind. I am so proud of my little girl.
Thank you, God. You may have crapped on me at times, but you managed to get one thing right...
I have wondered at times if I am negatively impacting her with all the work we have to do. At times like today, I do not think so. We moved the beams for the chicken coop up today, and leveled one into place. She was a great help sliding pieces of wood under the beam and checking the level for accuracy. Afterward, she drilled the holes for the bolts in the boards that will form the end caps. Annie and I share a lot of learning traits. She watches, then she does, and figures out the nuances that way. The 2x8s were on saw horses, which were a bit tall for her to get her muscle on the drill, so I had to help push, but she was all over it. I had her choose the bit, and went through how to choose the bit so this bolt would slide through the board. With help, she picked the bit, and I put it in the drill. I drilled the first one, and she watched me with an expression of complete absorption. The first six holes, I cleaned out the hole with the bit, and she always checked the holes to make sure the bolt slid through properly. After that, she said she wanted to do 'that part,' too. 'That part' being the cleaning of the hole. So, from that point on, she finished out the holes, and did a spectacular job.
A very good friend of mine once asked me why I put time in to a vegetable garden. Granted, we have not done that in two years, but we are very skilled at horticulture. My friend suggested that for many of our vegetables it would be probably cheaper to buy them when the time involved was considered. I was in shock. For me, there are few things more personally encouraging than seeing something I have worked on come to fruition, and even conclusion. His response to that answer was that I would be one of the few that would survive if everything went to heck, and we had to rely on that sort of function to survive. Well, in light of recent events in our economy, I think we might be really close to that. I have watched Annie's college fund dwindle to nothing. I do not know if my retirement fund will recover. That said, I have a phenomenal job. I make a good living, and we can do the things we need to. We just have to work hard to make things happen the way we want.
Annie will grow up knowing how to do everything necessary to manage a home. She will never look at tools with trepidation. If it has to be done, she'll do it. That is my gift to her. She will be one of the most independent women I have ever met. I am sure of it. Her choices will be made strictly from her heart with the requisite balance of the mind. I am so proud of my little girl.
Thank you, God. You may have crapped on me at times, but you managed to get one thing right...