Fathers Day

Once again, I found myself at the South America Mission guest house in Lima. My cousin had just spent almost two weeks in Peru visiting me and helping install a computer network in our office at SAM AIR. Having dropped my cousin off at the airport, I had a day and a half before my flight back to Pucallpa. So, I made the best of my time all day Saturday and it got me inspired to write something up for fathers day.

Growing up, I remember my own father working around the house. Some of my clearer memories of childhood were of me “helping” him repair ovens, replace window screens, build ping pong tables, and other such handyman jobs. When I was 7 years old I even wrote a father’s day card in the shape of a tool belt that said how I wanted to be like my dad. Well, for my day at the Lima guest house, I found myself doing the same things my father had taught me.

From talking with the lady who runs the house, I knew that there were a few different issues that needed to be addressed. So, I spent my day installing a new window screen, fixing a leaking faucet, and buying and installing both a fluorescent light fixture, and shower head/valve assembly. These things, in my mind, were simple jobs yet I knew that not everyone knew how to do them or would take pleasure in them as I did. The satisfaction of fixing something that was once broken or leaking is a wonderful feeling.

So Dad, this blog post if for you. Thanks for teaching me how to work with my hands. Thanks for teaching me that no job, even a leaky faucet, is to small to fix. Twenty years after that card that I gave you, I still find myself wanting to be like you. Happy fathers day!