Things You Pick Up Along the Way

I just realized yesterday how much of an all purpose handyman I've become over the years. No, this isn't boasting because, as my dad always said, "I'm a jack of all trades and master of none". He knew quite a bit about a lot of things and got that way about the same way I have; picking up things here and there through the years. Little things that I've learned here and there, lessons from doing things wrong, and tricks to do things easier have all made me something that I never dreamed I could be twenty years ago - someone who knows a little something about a lot of things. This came to me yesterday when I took a chainsaw apart and fixed it, having never done that before, using only the things I've learned through the years.

Owning an older home like this one has helped me get to be a fixit guy around the house, because there's always something broken or needing replaced. And with all the old cars I've had over the years I'm kind of a half-ass mechanic too. Of course I also know enough not to rely on my brain to do things that take years of training, like trying to rewire the computer or put a new roll of toilet paper on the dispenser... A man's got to know his limitations. I think, though, that my wife lucked out by having someone like me, and I try to remind her of that as often as possible. But for some reason she doesn't see it that way when it takes me three months to do a ten minute job, and she nags me everyday for those three months, threatening to call in a "real" plumber to fix the leaky faucet. Eventually it gets done, and handyman Tim gets a "thank you" from his wife... and a reminder that the back door window still needs fixed.