Wise Words Wednesday: Brick by Brick

This is a cautionary tale.

We know it is, because there is a banner that reads, “Caution.”

It is about the building of a brick privacy wall. (And I have no idea why this picture insists on not being centered. I have worked with it and worked with it. Oh, look — by typing a really long caption I convinced it to center itself. Amazing.)

To build our wall, we need tools…

…and, naturally enough, brick.

Mortar must be mixed just so — very tactile, very tiring to the muscles. I, myself, mixed for at least 10 seconds.

Masonry involves a lot of geometry. Even the look of the job site is full of geometrical forms.

This is the mason. He’s my dad, and he’s a fine man.

This is my mom, and she’s a fine woman. It might look like she is checking Dad’s work. She is, kinda, but she’s really one of the mason’s helpers.

Laying brick requires precision, creative problem-solving skills, adaptability, logic, strength, and a certain artistic vision.

It also requires the ability to handle goopy substances.

Dad has all those abilities.

When you have valuable abilities like that, you tend to get asked to use them. It can be a problem.

Even your birthday celebration gets squeezed in between work sessions. You may be forced to eat your birthday peanut butter pie with mortar smeared on your temple.