not high, just handy

a tale of renovation romance

It all just seems to glow.

He was impressed by my work.

Our last reno was a disaster. The guys who did the job - they did some smaller things for us before. But this one was big. Kitchen. Add a bathroom. Repair flood damage. It took months. And we were living there in all of the chaos.

He looked tense just talking about it.

They call the dust from drywall ‘divorce dust’. I get it. We made it through. There were times I had my doubts, but we made it.

He bit his lip

That renovation. It nearly killed us. The guys we had? They were a mess on this one. We think there were drugs involved. Lots of drugs. They became erratic. Eventually they stopped coming. The work was unfinished. I kept meaning to get back to it.

He shuffled sheepishly.

Now, I’ll never get back to it. We want to sell the house and there’s no way I’m fixing any of his mistakes.

He looked tense.

Look. I want two simple things from this work. I want to know that you’re not ripping me off and I want to know that you’re not high all day.

Those are standards I found easy to exceed. No problem.

Great. Just finish the job. Fill in the holes. Hang the towel bar properly. Paint the trip and finish the baseboards.

Before I set upon the room it was partially painted. The trim boards were primed waiting for paint. There were holes and thin areas of paint.

I took my time and when it was over that unfinished bathroom started to shine. It shone so bright it glowed.

Some say it’s hard to find good help these days.

This fool says: This is good when you’re the help.

Stay handy you fools.