87: Building a cabin, and bringing up boys

We're getting close to being done, but finishing a cabin isn't really the goal.

In Chapter 16, a year ago today on April 25, I wrote about my motivation to build a cabin. I described lots of reasons, but the important paragraph was about boys. I became a father to Abel and Angus later-than-average; at age 42, past the vigor of my own youth, having a sensitive and eager-to-please 6yo and a plucky, larger-than-his-britches 2.5yo brings unexpected freshness and brightness to every day. They are our life, and feeding the joy of any child is a fleeting but consummately worthy way to mark time. If I could bottle and sell it, I’d be rich. Building a cabin has been just one way to spend time with our boys and nurture their childhood. Blogging about it here has been an attempt to “bottle” that time. The pictures and short stories depict a wealth of blessings.

Here are just a couple of my favorite posts, because they deal with deeper stuff than carpentry – but many others show pictures that may speak for themselves and are worth more than my words…

Chapter 28
Chapter 36

More recently, I wrote briefly about perspective, about a book I'm reading that steers me toward this subject. I'm not good at writing about my faith, but it's there, and so is my determination, with God's help, to be the father they deserve. I have excellent role models, beginning with my Dad and Grandad, and including a number of friends I'm lucky to know.  After thrusting them into the world, we owe our children everything. If anyone is keeping score, it's the boys who matter.

Here's a thoughtful article written by a friend of mine, Bill, about his daughters. He's a terrific dad. He closes with, "And how do I help my other daughter, who is so much like me? Because one day she might open her eyes to the world and discover she’s forty-five." Yes. I relate to and admire Bill's sentimentality and concern. His little girl, she'll be fine. Belated enlightenment of any type is nothing to fear, in a life lived in good faith. She already knows her father's love, even as we all stumble along, sometimes in the dark.

Here's another one of Bill's reflections.  Obviously, Bill's a fine writer.  But what I especially appreciate about Bill is his way of letting the world slow down a little, during moments that matter.  His girls will remember that when they're old.

Building the cabin, spending time, creating memories, and writing about it -- that's how I'm stumbling through life at the moment, within the parameters of this project and blog.