The timing of my life has never been mine to dictate. Whether or not we believe that time is real or imagined, this discourse will continue under the assumption that the word “time” is the best and most universally understood metaphor we’ve found to talk about the changes which occur over the course of lifetimes in succession. Time is a marker for the stages of the evolution of things and it helps us talk about the past, but in the United States time too often becomes a God in and of itself. Time is an idol and I am constantly catching myself kneeling before her altar. It takes vigilance to ignore the sweet calling of her distracting song. If time is real, then God is the creator of it, and I therefor can never be early or late.
I recently completed a deck in the Crown Hill neighborhood of Seattle. I estimated that the project would take a total of 11 working days to complete. I started the project on September 17th, and then finally finished on October 19th. A few pieces of work had been added along the way, and I was in New York for 10 of those days, but I still was very aware that things were not progressing as I had predicted. Yet, now that the job is over, I find that I miss it. I enjoyed the creative outlet, and working outside. At the end of every work day Robert, the homeowner, would offer me a beer. He would bring his daughter and his dog to the back yard to have a look at the day’s progress. Robert’s wife Erica would also make visits to the back every-other day to say how much she liked the way things looked and how excited she was. “We’ve already got a bunch of friends eyeing it for a barbecue,” she’d say.
I had time to finish well. Some of the projects I had prepared estimates for, I did not win, and I was given a break from some of the ongoing projects I’ve been working on since getting home from Europe. Robert and Erica were very patient and gracious throughout the process. In the end what I had the time to build is one of the finest decks I have seen; a beautiful place for gatherings, relaxation, reading, playing, or nothing. In the end I had a hand in making someone’s house a home, and is there anything better than that?
albaniacalling 