It is Friday

I had the pleasure of cuddling my youngest daughter in the shower this morning, watching her reaction to the warm water, trying to eat the streams as it sprayed past her face and watching the tiny drops of spray collect on her cheeks, chin and forehead. The trick was to hold on to the slippery thing with one hand as you soap her body with the other. Interacting with her is definitely one of the sweetest joys in life and a tremendous escape and distraction from the weight of life. I felt the loss as I handed her off to her equally sweet mother, over the shower door, to a waiting towel with a hood. She was dressed by the time I was out.

I was able to get the shelves installed and caulked in the basement bathroom last night and put in the majority of the braces in the basement closet near what I have been calling the kitchen (it consists of a 6X8 corner of the game room containing a fridge and microwave) I miscalculated the amount of wood needed for the braces in the two closets and found myself one board short. I have already stopped by Home depot and picked up an additional board. I will have it in this weekend. My son#2 helped me cut the shelves from a longer board by holding one end as I cut along my line with the circular saw. He is a wonderful boy, such a spirit of willingness to help. I love and appreciate them all dearly! They certainly take after their mother in goodness. I am blessed beyond my station by the spirits surrounding me. God must have figured that this might be my only chance to survive.

The basement project is into its seventh month. I look at it now and see, (1) all the things that I messed up or didn't do well, (2) all the things that go into this project that I fortunately didn't think about when I took it on, (3) the wonderful evenings of framing with my son#1, who worked without complaint as my "go get this, hold this, put that there, stack all the 2x4's as I send them through the basement window" assistant. I love him. He has become a good and responsible young man. I admire him in so many ways.

So, braces in the basement kitchen closet, the actual shelves in the same closet, caulking them in and caulking the baseboards in the entire basement. I can just taste the caulk now.

I am very grateful for my employment. That being said, my job is as painful today to be involved with as I have ever experienced. I dread the very thought of it. I may, though, just be very lazy. Who knows, it may just be any job and not specifically this one. I smile through it and try for the best. You just do it.

I admire my dad and brothers. They are so smart and such hard workers. They have passion for what they do. They are successful. I enjoy my association with them. They are wonderful friends.