You know that feeling you get when you’re thisclose to finishing something?
The feeling when you’re ready to power down –
in this case, power down the power tools – and step back and savor a job
well done? Yeah, that was exactly what I was getting ready to do one day in
August 2003. I had just broken out all of the tile in my 1940s-style bathroom.
The room was covered in dust. I was covered in dust. There was wire mesh
bulging from the walls. The last of the broken tiles strewn in boxes and ready
to go into the Dumpster.
And then the power went out.
August 14, 2003. Power was out across much of the Midwest in arguably the
most memorable power outage in our lifetime. So there I stood in my bathroom,
surrounded by mounds of broken tile and sweating – both from all of the work
and the fact that the AC also was out.
Sure, looking back, it was a job well done. But, sadly, it was a job that I
had to be finished -- picked up again a
few days later when we regained power.
But in the end, I loved the hard
work and the bathroom itself. And I
became more passionate about home improvement. Several other projects followed
in that house…until, of course, we moved. And then we started the DIY projects
all over again.
Call me a Weekend Warrior, or call me crazy. I’m Kevin Martin, and these
are my stories.
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| The finished bathroom in our first house |
