 |
| Gramps's cottage; the green siding is what we made |
PT’s 91 Years of Wisdom
This year, I had a terrible time trying to figure out what my A-Z theme would be. I finally decided that this year, I would honor my beloved 91 year old grandfather, Paul Titus, or PT as his friends called him, who passed away on February 8th. He lived a wonderfully full life and was always trying to challenge my brothers and me to think out of the box. So for this challenge I thought I would share little bits of his wisdom that he tried to bestow upon us.
But I also want to highlight the wonderful bloggers in this community who have published their books. So everyday, I will give a quick shout out to those works with titles beginning with the letter of the day.
“If you’re not getting paid for a job, it must be fun”- Paul Titus (Gramps)
One day, when I was about 16 or 17, Gramps needed help making new pieces of decorative siding for the cottage. I was enjoying myself in the sun when he came out and asked me to help. It didn’t sound like much fun to be in the stuffy garage, working instead of soaking up the rays of summer, so I complained. But he convinced me to help anyway.
He had already cut the pieces of wood to the right size, all I needed to do was use the bandsaw, which he showed me how to operate, to cut out a decorative edge. He watched me do the first few to make sure I was doing it right. Then he went to cut more boards. I lost myself in the creative process and began to enjoy cutting out the graceful lines. 18 boards later, I showed him my work.
He said, “Great pal, now we need to hang them.”
“Uh ok.” My heart sank. I didn’t want to work more. The sun would be setting in a few hours and my skin wouldn’t be fully tanned.
Together we worked on nailing them to the side of the cottage. When we finished, he told me to take a step back and look at the work we had done. An immense sense of pride filled me as I looked up and saw my boards protecting the cottage.
“Hey Gramps,” I said, “that was actually a lot of fun. Thanks for asking me to help.”
“You’re welcome. Thanks for helping.”
****
Now for the "J" title shout outs, only one today, so if you know of more just put it in the comments!!
 |
| Rosalind Adam |
Oh and Jess from Write Skate Dream wanted me to let you know that she hasn't fallen off the Earth, she has just been swamped with homework. So, she decided to take April off of blogging and will hopefully be back in May!
Have a joyful "J" day! And don't forget to check out all the other entries here.
I just read her post!
ReplyDeleteYou grandfather taught you something really valuable - pride in a job well done.
My dad always talked about the value of having a marketable skill - something that I could do for someone else. He was a contractor and all my sisters and I know many facets of building a house - he didn't care that we were girls.
ReplyDeleteIt's a valuable lesson to take pride in your accomplishments. In our family, we were encouraged to never settle for anything but our best, as well.
ReplyDeleteIf you hadn't helped your grandpa that day, look what you would have missed!
I enjoyed your post very much and I could tell...you loved your grandfather and enjoyed helping him and it is something you will never forget that the two of you shared. www.sandysanderellasmusings.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteA job well done is one to take pride in. Thanks for such a deep post. And wish Jess all the best.
ReplyDeleteYour grandfather sounded like a wonderful man!
ReplyDelete