In my time with Heidi, I picked up a lot of practical experience in home repair, construction, etc. And by association, the incentive to do such work. (It had never really been an issue in my life before, since I’d lived in rental space my whole life.)

I built things in “Technology Class” (read: Shop Class) in grade school, and made toolboxes and birdhouses in boy scouts. I was always taking things apart. Always wanting to know how things worked.

But I was never quite mechanical. Never traditionally “manly” in the saw, hammer, and wrench kind-of-way. First person you call to fix the computer, but not the radiator.

So all this do-it-yourself stuff kicking in now, it’s kind of interesting. Every time I pick up another tool for the toolbox, I imagine the reaction my father — who worked with his hands most of his life — would have had. I mean… you know… besides the smart-ass remark.