Parenting The Hard Way: Family of Fixers, Part 1

As I mentioned, the Amazing PR Man
was once again amazing. About a year ago JH and his Magic Bag of Tools and I
moved and reframed the front door. It was a pretty serious job, and I have to
confess that I felt rather proud of myself at getting it done. It not only
addressed a serious problem with the house, but it was a difficult task, not
for the faint of heart. I did most of the framing, as well.

A year passed and the interior remained unfinished. R was not happy about this, but she realized that there so many other things going on. I was on the cusp of hiring a carpenter. Enter the Amazing PR Man. He took one look at it and said, ?Let?s do it.? The only problem was, it would require a truck, which was no simple feat. We don?t own a truck, and the person I would usually ask for a favor, my Mentor, is probably not only sick of my needs, but he was out of town. I called a few people before our good friends, the Gs, came through. Speaking of testing the limits of our welcome, the Gs have been coming through for us on a number of occasions. Thanks GG and JG, you guys are the best.

Anyway, we needed a truck to haul drywall, which are not only big and heavy, (unless you?re the Amazing PR Man, who can toss them around like playing cards), but fragile. They break easily, and once they?re broken, they?re done. Because of this, we needed a big truck, as well.

This is how things transpired. There was an open stick at UA, which the kids wanted to attend (what else is new?). Now I could have been the pragmatic dad and just said no, but they really wanted to go, and more skating will only help their game. Plus, sometimes it?s easier when they are busy and occupied, leaving adults to do adult things. Finally, the timing worked out.

The plan was to drop them off at public skate, where they could skate for an hour before putting on their gear for open stick. This gave us 2 hours. During this time, we headed over to GGs, which is nearby, got the truck and then headed over to Brittons. Now I don?t think we could have managed this if not for Brittons, because Home Depot of LaValleys were almost too far away.

We picked up the drywall and plywood, as well as assorted necessities (i.e., drywall screws, masonry saw blade, joint compound) and headed home. We unloaded the stuff and the Amazing PR Man went to work. He didn?t even need me there to help, and if anything, we better off for it. When you?re amazing, you don?t need any help, especially from a real man in training.

While he was getting ready, I took the truck back to the Gs, and then headed to the ice rink to pick up the kids. They had just finished when I arrived, so I loaded them into the car and headed home, where PR was working on the vestibule, and R and her mom were making supper. I suddenly had some free time, which I couldn?t take advantage of because everyone around me was being industrious. I started working on my coaching module, which was probably a mistake, because it sent negative hockey vibes out to certain people (too much *$*%^ hockey!). I did manage to get a lot done, however. Those modules are a huge time drain.

Anyway, by later afternoon, supper was finished, and the vestibule was almost done. Dinner was nice, R and JR did a fabulous job, and after supper, PR and I went back to work. I think he wanted to include me in a few things because he might have got the impression that I was feeling left out. It wasn?t that I felt left out, but rather guilty that he was working so hard. I did manage to screw a couple of things up, but they thankfully weren?t irreparable.

I did learn how to cut dry wall, and due to time constraints, PR left me to finish the job. I need to cut out a piece of concrete board to finish the floor, and then finish taping the drywall. I have some experience working with joint compound when I fixed the walls after removing wallpaper, so it?s completely alien to me. That doesn?t mean I?ll get it done any time soon, but it?s something. Then I?m supposed to put in a floor. The decision was made to tile it, which is a bit more complicated than simply putting in wood flooring, but with greater challenge comes greater reward, right?

At the very least I?ll have something to write about. Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to jwstrand for the pic.

Source: http://parentingthehardway.blogspot.com/2012/11/family-of-fixers-part-1.html

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