Another Tortoise and Hare Story

This Old Tortoise

I will readily admit that I am the Handyman Tortoise in a line of Home Improvement Hares. My father was a truly gifted craftsman, equally adept in plumbing, carpentry, electrical wiring, painting...you name it, Dad could do it. He made his living as a "tinner," someone who fashioned all sorts of things out of light gauge metal, things like duct work, boxes, cabinets, etc..

Along with being very knowledgeable, Dad was also a tireless worker. He was constantly building stuff around the house when he wasn't rebuilding the house itself. Mom and Dad had bought several "fixer-uppers" along the way, and Dad never hesitated in stripping a house down to the studs and starting over, and he was able to accomplish all sorts of major projects even while working full time.

My two brothers seemed to have inherited the bulk of Dad's skills and energies. Both of them have done wondrous things with their homes. My brother Ray added a deck to the back of one of his houses, and he did it in a weekend.

I have been extraordinarily productive since I retired...at least by my standards. Yet as I look over the list of things I've done in the past year, I know that Dad would have pounded out all those things in a week (two at the most) and probably changed the oil in the car as well.

Sand, the supportive wife that she is, has never complained about my lack of handyman productivity, and even as our current project (the kitchen remodel) stretches into its third week, she still exhibits the patience of a saint, and she still is genuinely delighted when we begin to see any progress whatsoever.

I think that God knew exactly the type of man that Sand needed to make her happy, and so despite my genetic predispositions, made me a tortoise amongst hares so as to be able to allow my wife to live a contented life.

God is good. I'm just saying.