An Unexpected Gift

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I was SO close…

Five more minutes, and I would have been OUT the door…to freedoms unlimited – perhaps the beach, or the pool, happily engrossed with my Kindle and a delicious good book for the day - with the sky my only limit and an umbrella drink my only companion.

But I ruined it all with one – wait…okay, two – innocuous questions.

It began innocently enough – Sunday morning, I met my parents at church, and afterwards, headed over to their condo for a delicious Easter brunch. My folks JUST closed on this condo last week, and to say that it needs some cosmetic updating would be a HUGE understatement. Honestly, it needs a wrecking ball – knock down the walls, gut it, and just start all over…but my parents are determined to do this themselves with the enthusiasm of a 16-year old boy with his first car.

After Easter supper, my Dad wanted to begin installing the new Pergo laminate flooring in the two bedrooms of the condo…as I was grabbing my keys to head back to my OWN house, I asked the first of the two questions:

“So, Dad, have you ever installed laminate flooring before?”

“Nope.”

Oh…okay. So, I followed up that first question with this second one, which turned out to be a HUGE mistake on my part:

“So…do you know HOW to install it?”

“Nope.”

CRAP.

Okay…I am not a ‘toolsy’ girl, by any means…DIY, to me, means “Dial It Yourself” – looking through the Yellow Pages to find someone who can do it FOR me.

However…I do have to say that my various mission-trip experiences have taught me several things…I’ve learned how to plant bamboo in a jungle, take a patient’s blood pressure, build cinder block walls, hang sheetrock, and paint walls like a professional. I’ve also spent five days installing laminate flooring on a mission trip to Galveston – which doesn’t qualify me as an expert, but it DOES make me more than adequate.

Sighing, I set my keys down and picked up a saw…and hence began a three-day project, working side-by-side with my dad…installing beautiful wooden laminate in the two bedrooms of their condo.

I am sore in places that I didn’t know even EXISTED on my body…I am exhausted…and I am dusty. Very, very dusty…

…but the project is now complete, and I’ve got to say…I will probably look back on these past three days, spent working beside my 71-year old father, as some of the best days of my life.

An unexpected Easter gift that I will cherish forever.




Peace.

*Image from HERE