New Experiences Are Great Teachers
Last Fall, the weather here in Atlanta was incredibly warm. So I started my spring chores early. Here are some things I learned while painting the outside of my house while balancing on a tall ladder:
- Don’t cradle a gallon of paint in your arm under your nose.
- Don’t paint too close to your face.
- New clothes attract more paint than old clothes.
- It IS possible for a weekend project to expand to two months.
- Preparation work –you know, scrapping, sanding, caulking, priming– isn’t near as much fun as painting. But in areas where I skipped the prep work and went right to the good stuff, I repeatedly had to go back and do it over, which wasn’t fun, either. And I spent so much time redoing around the bay window in the front that my neighbor, Paul, hollered across the street: “You can’t make a career on one window.” But I really wanted the results to look professional so I labored mightily.
From all of this I learned 2 smart ideas:
1. If you call professional painters to finish up, they won’t make fun of you. And
2. Peace and world order are somehow restored when you do what you’re good at and you let others do what they’re good at. It’s smart to recognize each person has his talents.