The Master #2: Insanity

There is a popular definition on insanity going around that had a bearing on me today. Forgive me please if you have heard it but:

Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results.

I was laying my flooring in the Master bedroom. I took the time to carefully clean the floor, undercut the door jams, snap a line, cut a corner out for my sliding glass door, dry fit, glued, cleaned up, weighted and waited.

Then I came back several hours later, snapped a line 3 boards away from the original and dry fit the next row.

All good I believe.

Then I went and aimed myself at a cliff and started running toward it as hard as I could. I spread the glue for all 3 rows and started laying the floor on top of it without the benefit of my tapping block. I didn’t have enough weight to hold down 3 rows at once. I spread my weight set so thin that it wasn’t holding anything down. I noticed that one of my boxes had been dumped out at some time so all the boards had a bad corner. I was laying the boards in the glue before inspecting. I got to the third row like this then noticed I was already off line and I started hammering the danged board in place with the rubber mallet. Curse words started slipping out of my mouth as I just started pounding the board. I tossed that board aside, slopped some more glue down and started pounding on the next board. I was cursing loud now and hammering hard. There were gluey boards everywhere. Everything my hands touched got glue on it. The mallet had picked up some glue so it was leaving a mess with every smack.

I yelled a horrendous combination of words and was struck by the echo that hit me. I scared my family for Pete’s sake.

I have just come off of a horrible week. We found $1200 worth of car repairs to do before I can pass state inspection. The dryer went out. The water heater sprang a leak and I have been constantly advised to let the pros do it and bring it up to code. I asked the tech to fix the shower leak as well while he was at it. I got soaked for $2700.00 on the heater and that was one I mournfully accepted but when that guy turned over a $300 dollar bill for replacing the valve in the shower I felt like strangling him. My wife calls her brother in law to ask on the progress of a home sale so we can get our 1/3 of the sale but they got in a horrible fit with each other so I had to step in.

So I pounded boards and cursed…...

And the Echo hit me…..

And I scared my family…..

I sat there staring dumbly at the blue walls I had painted so well.

Slowly slowly slowly I picked up the board I had been pounding and scraped the glue off the back, I picked more boards up and scraped them as well. I cleared two rows of boards off and cleaned them up. I cleaned the glue off the floor then cleaned the glue of the boards that were OK. I weighted those down. I cleaned tools and boards for the next half hour. I took the damaged boards and set them aside so I could plan how to use them. I inspected the rest of my flooring the same way.

I left my shoes by the door and walked to the kitchen with just my socks. The little cuts on my hands were still stinging from the mineral spirits. I got some water and was about to take a sip when my wife walked up to me and just put her arms around me and without a word – gave me a kiss. She knew. She fed me a nice lunch and we watched a little TV.

I went back into the bedroom and dry fitted the row I had removed earlier – well – and so on.

I have very little to show for my day.

Those few boards fit tight and they are clean. I have good contact with the concrete. They may not be much but they show at least one thing. My horrible week is in the past.

I was going to post my progress differently and leave out all the baggage but as soon as I logged on I saw Debbie’s post about GaryK, I almost panicked. I thought it was the Gary who has been so kind to me and taught me patiently. I confess that I was very relieved when I saw that it wasn’t GaryL. Once again, the holy spirit convicted me. He put my focus back on the important things he tries to teach me if we I just be still.

I’m still glad it’s not GaryL. However, our loss of GaryK has touched my heart. This is as real as I get my friends. Peace.

Mark

-- Working on my home for 2 years and counting.