Passing Down Skills
At the writing of this, my daughter is 4 and my son is 3, ages rife with curiosity. Everything is new and exciting, but the most exciting thing to them is spending time with their parents. They know I spend a lot of time in the shop, often in the evenings after they go to bed, but they want the opportunity to join me and see what I do.
This past weekend we picked a project that’s been on the list since last summer. A bird house. The quintessential kid build, I know, but it’s a good learning project and we needed one.
See, our old bird house became home to a family of bumblebees last summer. Previously we had a family of chickadees coming every year, but the bees and the birds don’t get along, go figure, and I wanted our birds back. So new bird house it was.
When my daughter asked when we were going to rebuild the bird house I said now. I do my best to encourage them to be in the shop with me as it does two very important things. It is a learning opportunity, for lots of lessons wood and non-wood related. In this case, patience and sharing are evidently being practiced.
But more importantly, it gives me an opportunity to spend time with them.
When I was growing my father always had a project around the house. From remodeling the kitchen to building a shed, there was always an activity underway and at a young age I would help. That usually meant observing and fetching tools, but that process gave me an idea of what’s possible.
I want to inspire in my children that they can do anything they set their mind to. To pursue their passion, whatever that may be. If they enjoy what they do, then keep on doing it. Life is too short to do something that makes you miserable.
Now, that’s a lesson that will take many years for them to learn, so we might as well get started now.
So there we were. In the shop learning how to use a saw, handle a chisel, and swing a hammer. But the real lesson was and always will be patience, persistence, and passion.
There is only one thing I want you to take away. Regardless of your life situation, no kids, young kids, teenagers, or adult children, think back to that activity in your life that taught you life skills you use to this day. What was the activity? What did you learn? And how was it taught? Now comment and share down below so we can all learn from your lesson and give back to one another.