Journey to Fulfillment

I

Can’t Find My Tools

When buying supplies for any project at our house, I

include the tools. I buy cheap, disposable tools, with

the intention of throwing them away when the project

is complete. Sam disagrees with this practice. He

says if you buy good tools and take care of them, they

will last you a lifetime. I do understand that philosophy;

however, one look at his garage would indicate

my practice might be quicker. The tool needed for any

project is in his garage—somewhere. My thoughts run

along the line of -- if we have three hours to complete

a four-hour task and spend two hours looking for

the right tool, the odds of completing that chore are

slightly better than winning the Publisher’s Clearing

House Sweepstakes.

Since my husband works strange hours, when I

want a project completed, my options are waiting

for both of us to be off on the same day or complete

the task myself. When our oldest son was a baby and

before I started working outside of the home, we had

moved into a small rent house with Venetian blinds

on the windows. I hate Venetian blinds, so I bought

curtains to help the drab décor of the house. The next

day when my husband left for work, he said, “When I

come home tonight, I’ll hang those curtains for you.”

That night as we sat down for dinner, the phone rang.

A member of the church needed Sam’s help. After eating,

Sam went to the member’s house and helped him

complete the task. The next morning as he was leaving

for work, he said “When I come home tonight, I’ll

hang those curtains for you.” That night another member

of the church called for assistance. Sam went. The

next morning we repeated the farewell address. That

night we repeated the aid to needy church members.

This routine continued for three weeks. One morning

as he left and stated the now traditional departure,

I decided to hang those curtains myself. That night

when he walked into the living room and saw the curtains,

he said, “I would have hung those curtains for

you if you had just waited.”

It didn’t take long to realize that my husband’s idea

of the appropriate waiting period and mine were irreconcilable,

so I learned to complete the tasks myself.