Yeah, I am a devout procrastinator. Why do something today when I can forget about it tomorrow. I have been one of those for pretty much as long as I can remember. Every once in a blue moon I will get a wild hair and actually try to do work. This past week was just such a situation.
You see, my wife was going to be gone a week on a business trip and about midway through I thought "Hey! Why not do something?" I thought about hanging a new curtain rod but I figure I can always do that one later since it should take me just a few minutes to do. Maybe I should paint the kids rooms (crayons are an evil invention) but not really in the mood plus that would have been an all day thing. I know! I will put up a new ceiling fan. The old one had busted blades and the motor was kind of fried from a direct lighting strike from a couple of years back. So I went out to the garage and flipped some breakers to shut off the power for the room. I got it on the second try. So far, so good. I removed the ceiling plate and I was confronted with multiple wires. Yikes! I opened the new ceiling fan box and looked at the instructions. Yikes! Closed up the box and put the plate back. That wasn’t going to work.
Over in the corner I noticed a large box that had been sitting in the corner for a couple of months. That’s right! I forgot all about the bench table thingy that my wife wanted to be put by the front door. This should be easy! I opened the box. No problem. Set out the pieces. No problem. I started to assemble and absolutely no problem.
I’m in a high mood. Getting the table built and actually doing something creative. I reach for part B which the instructions say is the middle support. I turn it over and I notice a light layer of dust. That really was of no concern. I planned on wiping it down once I was complete. As I was positioning the board I noticed in the light a footprint in the dust. It was slightly smaller than my seven year old foot. There are times when you see something or hear something that make you stop. To take in a moment. This was not like some commercial of some poor child needing shoes. Those are intangible but this was something real. Something I could see and touch. I wondered about the child that may have been used to cut the wood. Maybe he or she just packed the wood in the box. I do not know. What I do know is that every time I look at this bench I will think of the child and the little footprint left on a piece of wood.


Chip