Wall Repair II

I was a little bummed last night. When I went to bed, the forecast said it was supposed to rain on and off all day today, which meant I wouldn't be able to work on the wall today. (I hate it when I can't make progress on my projects; when the weather doesn't cooperate with the time I have free. Somewhere in the back of my head, if I don't keep chipping away a project, I'm pretty sure I'll turn into my dad, and never actually finish it. He'd get 80-90% of something done in good time, but that last 10% was touch and go as to whether it would ever get completed!)

But the weather gods decided to smile on me, and when I woke up this morning, the rain had been taken out of the forecast. So I put on my work clothes, hat, and sunscreen, gathered all my tools and went outside to see what I could get done before I hit the metaphorical wall.

Last week, when my neighbor came by to inspect my work, he asked how I was mixing up the mortar. I told him I was doing it by hand, and he strongly advised I invest in a paddle mixer. I asked Joe to look at them when he was at the store picking up more sand for me, and he not only looked, he purchased. Turns out the things cost less than fifteen dollars. Joe was also kind enough to loan me his hammer drill, to save wear and tear on my smaller household drill.

I was intrigued as I locked the paddle into the drill, plugged it in and plunged it into the mortar mix. I'd seen it done, but had never tried it myself. I'm now a believer. With the drill to do the mixing, I was able to mix and apply three times the mortar I'd been able to do last week. Hmmm... there's probably a reason power tools are so popular.  you think?

As I worked, I was asking myself why I was doing it at all. The work needs to be done, that's not the question, but why didn't I hire it done instead of trying to do it myself? I certainly didn't hesitate last week before signing the contract with the sprinkler company to repair the damage from the sewer replacement. What was different here?

I'm pretty sure it comes down to my unwillingness to act my age. I am in my late fifties; I know there are things I used to enjoy that I'll never do again. (Water skiing, running, and sleeping in a sleeping bag on the ground in a tent all come to mind in quick succession.) And, I know the time will come that I am unable to even attempt a project like this one. It'll be sooner than I think, if only because the wheel of time has been spinning at an increasing rate this past decade, and my friends who are paving the way for me through the experience of aging have assured me it keeps it up.

I'm not ready to stop learning how to do new things. I'm not ready to admit I'm too old to work outside in the summertime. I'm not ready to never again feel the well-earned muscle exhaustion that comes from pushing myself physically - I always sleep like a child when I do this. (As long as I don't overdo it. I definitely have my limits.)

It feels good to know that, one more time, I've managed to delay the inevitable.
I've remembered to live the days I have.