Back in the Saddle

Finally! It feels as though I am finally back to normal and have fully returned from vacation.  There were many things which helped me get to this point: being back at work, back in Johnston, back with friends, back on a normal schedule.  But one of the big ones was finding my way back to the Toybox ... to my shop.  I had missed being where I could actually build something.  The first opportunity I got out there, I spent most of the time just sitting - no music, no tools, just quiet. I have never been into meditation or anything like that, but I have to think that what I felt was similar to that type of experience.

This has always been my pattern.  My mom knew that when I had been through enough, whatever it was, she would find me in the shop at home doing something, even if it was only cleaning.  I am not the first generation that behaved this way. When I was very little, the shop was where dad and all of his friends would gather at the end of a day, or on a weekend to get what had happened during the week out of their minds.  They spoke about woodworking or gun-smithing and there was always a good deal of humor and picking at each other. This was a group not above the occasional practical joke.  So that was the first group of men I found myself belonging to.

When I worked for Payless Cashways and was assigned to the store in Ft Dodge, we found a shop that helped all of us to find our center.  The Midwest Top Shop was a countertop provider for us during the day, and at the end of the day, it became a place to go and sit and have a beer.  Matt, the owner, was never foolish enough to let any of us have a key to the place, but it was always open to us regardless of the day or the hour.  If our families were unable to find us, they called the Top Shop and inevitably found us there.  That was a good time.

While there, I had the second nicest shop I ever owned.  It was a 24 x 24 double garage, heated and insulated, and where Andrew and I spent a great deal of time. He began to have an appreciation of the skills needed to put things together and think things through.  He was also spending time in his grandfather’s shop, typically pounding nails or using the scroll saw.  I remember the night he had come to the Top Shop with me and was working at a bench.  The rest of the guys that were there were amazed by the fact that at the age of five he could accurately make all the sounds for the equipment he was used to being around.

Fast forward to today. Andrew has spent a couple of weekends at home since he graduated.  While this is truly at a time when he is facing big changes, the fun thing is that during these visits, he's gone to the Toybox with me not just because I asked, but because he wanted to.  He's been a big help on some of the projects that I have going on out there.  Maybe I've extended the desire for a shop in the next generation.  His may look completely different than mine - it may well be electronics and computers, but he will have some kind of space where he can process his day and work on his passions.  So Lyndsey, I will just apologize now, because the acorn really doesn't fall far from the tree.

Anyway, I am back, re-engaged, and looking forward to getting projects completed and other projects started.  I also have most of the parts bought for a computer that I am going to build.  A friend sent me a list of the Top 10 DIY 'must-dos' a while back and building a computer was on that list.  That will be something to look forward to in the next few months.

As always, thanks for reading and have a GREAT week.