The Construction Project.

I stood in the hallway, staring. In front of me, I faced a housewife’s worst fear: a box. Should I dare open it? Well, I figured, it couldn’t hurt. I could just cut the ties, after all, and then, if need be, I could cry for help. Tentatively, I took the scissors in hand, and cut the constraints, and then proceeded to remove the contents.

I’d waiting for this package to arrive. ‘Some assembly required’, the ad had said – but exactly how much assembly was ‘some’? Last week, when our school-room shelves had arrived, I’d immediately invoked my usual, ‘Bill, Daniel – help!’ shriek. But this time, I was cautiously optimistic. Why should I always play the role of the damsel in distress? Was there any hope at all that maybe I could assemble this one? And all by myself?

The contents included 4 racks, 4 shelves, 2 baskets, and several clips, racks & screws. It was to be ‘all mine’ – a craft trolley – something that would make my life a whole lot easier and allow me to keep my supplies together in one, neat place. But of course, that would only be after I’d accomplished the ‘some assembly required’ bit.

Taking a deep breath, I began – I mean, how hard can it be, right? I did own a screwdriver, after all, and instructions were included. Carefully, I looked at Step 1. Yes! It made sense! In a flash, I proceeded to Step 2, Step 3, and even Step 4. It was looking good – the screwdriver was actually the right one, and I even put it together the correct way around. Things were going well.

But then, I needed to place the clips for the shelves on the wires. Whew – not easy. I pushed and heaved, but my silly wrists simply did not seem to have the strength I needed to get those clips to attach. But, I was not to be thwarted. I’d come this far, and I had confidence now. I would succeed! I figured that maybe by using some sort of tool, I could pry the clips open a little, thereby allowing them to attach with less force. And guess what? It worked! It took some time, but I found a tool the right size, and after some effort, figured out the best way to accomplish my goal.

Before I knew it, I found myself looking at step 8 – the final step! Simply add the runners and the baskets, and I would be done. Easy. I completed this last step in no time at all, and was soon standing back to admire my handiwork. MY work – I’d done it! Later, I was faced with all the difficult choices of what to put where, but eventually, I was able to pronounce my afternoon’s work ‘completed’.

For certain, some of you out there would find such a task to be a simple one, but for us who rely on our men-folk maybe a little too much, this construction project has proven to be a magnificent learning curve for me – and I’m quite proud of myself for achieving it!

Ta - Da! The finished project:

Linda.