This chair project with my grandpa has been in progress for about 2 years. We're refinishing 3 farmhouse chairs that have been in the family since the 1800's way back on a farm in Tennessee. They have been through a lot in the last 100+ years, so it's taking some time and there are the pauses for life, summer heat, etc.. As the chairs come together with some elbow grease, stories of old are set loose in the garage; I am getting an education invaluable in all this. This last time, I heard about his adventures speaking before Congress on behalf of then Brown & Root, and making the trip to DC with George Brown on George's Gulf Stream (so what's flyer than a G6? being on the G6 with George Brown)...and he tells me about my dad's career at Brown & Root..and all the major projects dad was put on even as his health declined, how respected he was at work for so many qualities I admire....like bridging divides in negotiations, bringing people together even in disagreement, diplomacy, and so on. It makes me wish I got to know him as a grown up, and makes me wish I was more like him.
When the chairs are progressing well, grandpa says things like,
"Two heads is better than one, even if one of 'em is a cabbage head."
"It's almost like we know'd what we was doin"
"Happier than a bug on ice"
I think I'm the cabbage head. I don't know why a bug on ice is happy. But I do love hearing the phrases uttered from another time.
Last week Lilly and I played hooky at the butterfly exhibit, followed by Marysia's yummy dinner, followed by Marysia's even yummier homemade sangria, followed by quality patio time and Lilly negotiating bedtime like a pro. Truth be told, I'm not sure it gets much better than days like these.
The moment my heart melted to my toes? Picking Lilly up from school I peek into her classroom to find her sitting, backpack ON, at a table by the door while all the other kids are playing. She is just sitting quietly there, waiting for me. Because I said I'd be there, and she still thinks I'm cool :)
No comments:
Post a Comment