So Friday my father drove back down to help me complete or at least come close to completing the deck project we started two weeks ago. We were afraid I'd not be able to complete it myself for a while.
He left this morning and while not complete it looks like a deck now anyway. You can stand on it or sit things on it and in my book (when did I get a book?) that makes it a deck. The only thing it is currently sans is the railing and some sprucing up around it. If it sits until Spring, it will be a-ok. At least now if a neighbor sees it they'll say "oh you've built a deck" rather than "oh you've decided plant in the ground some weird looking poles and litter your back yard with boards and drive down my property value I see, will a vechicle soon be on blocks in your front yard"?
But one thing had to happen beforehand. The first weekend of this project I felt the need to defer to his judgement, he having actual deck experience. He felt like he should defer to me for decisions since it was my money being spent and my deck. Because of that stalemate, every decision took five times as long. "what do you think"?, "err, well I think this but what do you think"?. And on and on.
After a disasterous first plank board sawing error, I jumped in and took charge. This seemed to actually come as a relief to my Dad, as if he was grateful to not have to be the authority figure the whole time. From there on we cooked right along, until he slipped on the hillside we were working on a twisted his ankle. Now I had to take the whole project on mentally and physically. As if by miracle, my back suddenly allowed me to work like I didn't think I could any longer. And today it still feels as good as it has in a while. I know this is merely the cyclical nature of my injury, and it will return to form soon, but it was the right time for it to let me be "normal" for a day or two.
I also reached that moment when the baton of authority was handed over to me from my Dad. As if I was now old enough and wise enough to be an equal maybe. That's kind of cool. The suprising part was how eager he seemed to hand it over.
I hope to have enough good days to finish the rails before my surgery, but if not, it can sit as is for a while as well.
But most of all, I really dig using power tools. Vrooommmmm.

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