“Patience and tenacity are worth more
than twice their weight of cleverness.”
Thomas Henry Huxley
If you are lucky to be the parent of a son born in the mid-1980’s, you remember how much they admired Super Hero’s. From Batman to Superman the costumes, pjs and action figures were scattered around their bedroom. My little boy was no different. However, he wanted a display shelf that would show off his most prized Super Hero possessions; a display shelf only fitting for a museum.
After searching relentlessly for months for a Batman style shelf and not finding one, I did what I do when I can’t find exactly what I want. I design and build it myself.
First I designed and figured out the dimensions for the shelf and made a paper template of the exact size and shape. Never having constructed a custom shelf before, I attempted to enlist my talented woodworking husband. My husband was a masterful carpenter; with his power and hand tools always ready in the garage for his magisterial skilled hands. His designs always clean and beautiful, to match the potential of the wood for the task at hand.
Hubby was very busy at the time, but was confident I could build it myself, so he set up his Dewalt table mounted jigsaw for me to cut the wood. He patiently taught me how to use the jigsaw with some scrap pieces of wood. His final instructions were to practice for a few hours until he returned before cutting the beautiful poplar wood I bought for the project.
After 20 minutes of practice, I decided I was skilled enough to cut the final pieces needed for my shelf. Needless to say, hubby was not happy with me when he returned and saw what I had done. Mostly he was angry because I might have lost a digit or two. I can’t say I remember every detail, but I do remember an argument ensued, with wood flying everywhere in the garage. After he calmed down, he was impressed with my little Batman shelf I had created. In fact, he even helped me sand and smooth the edges before I spray painted it glossy jet black.
When my son returned from his father’s house that weekend, I had already mounted the shelf on a wall in his bedroom. He was so impressed he didn’t believe his mom had build the shelf and not bought it somewhere.
To this day, when my son needs help locating something he desires, he calls me to find it for him. So far, I’ve always been able to come through for him. He admires his mom’s patience and tenacity when it comes to getting a job done. And he will always remember and appreciate the time I made his dream Batman Shelf.
Shine On
