Know the Drill

When I was growing up, my mom was the "handyman" of the house. She could fix anything. And she always did it without reading the directions! She tackled any project. But the underlying message was "Don't let men touch anything for they will just make it worse and get mad besides."

I was like my mom in my early adult years. When I worked as a maid at a motel in Niagra Falls, New York, one summer, I fixed a garbage disposal and was not afraid to tackle any kind of job. As I began to get my own living spaces, I painted, wallpapered, put up bathroom tile, laid linoleum, all kinds of projects. But my dream was to meet a man who was a true "handyman" -- one who would fix everything. And that dream came true in my husband. I have been especially delighted as the world has become more and more technological...leaving me in the dust...and he has been my hero!

When we visited Sara and Mike in August, I was inspired by Sara! She was Steve's right-hand man, learning to hang ceiling fans and performing all kinds of fix it jobs in their new home. So last week, when Jen wanted to hang frames on her wall, we didn't call Steve, who was busy with his own projects. She found his drill and figured out how to make it drill forward and back out of the wood. Then I drilled the holes in the frame and screwed in the screws to hold the sawtooth hooks. And it was an almost perfect job -- I only went completely through the frame one time so that there is a tiny hole on the front of one frame! We were so proud of ourselves. And next time, it will be Jen's turn to do the drilling.