This past weekend my friend Brad Who Lives In Memphis™ (Hi Brad!) came to visit The Wife™ and I. He said he wanted to help out around the house with some projects, and frankly who am I to say no to some help? Besides, it got me out of the house with an excuse to 1) buy some crap, 2) use power tools and, 3) not be around The Dog From the Bowels of Hell (Jonas) all day.
When Brad Who Lives In Memphis™ arrived, Jonas was rather unsure of it. Being as we live a few miles east of nowhere, we don’t have many house visitors, so our dog’s socialization skills are somewhat on par with the crazy psycho killer Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs. This needs to go on the to-do list.
Anyway, Brad Who Lives In Memphis™ and I spent Saturday afternoon plowing through a whirlwind of to-do-list jobs, tasks that happily can now be crossed off the Master List which sits posted to the ‘fridge (consisting of roughly 844 items that need accomplishing). In a few short hours we installed a new security light over the garage, replaced three fence posts and broken latch in our gate, and did several rounds of surface prep for the kitchen walls. The Wife™ almost passed out when she came home to find items from the Master List had actually been accomplished. I told her she simply married the wrong man.
See, Brad Who Lives In Memphis™ (BWLIM) is a man’s man. He strikes a hammer with no regret. He chooses bolts and nails with confidence. No hemming or hawing, no worrying about “what if this doesn’t work?!” or “shouldn’t we measure one more time?!” He alone is the reason that three items on the Master List got checked off this weekend. And when he left on Sunday, I had a renewed sense of confidence. I spent the afternoon hanging by one hand and falling off ladders in order to clean out my gutters. I was freezing and wet with bleeding fingers and no idea what I was doing. But I learned to not let the fear of the “what ifs” stop me from trying.
As I always am reminded when I get to spend time with some of my good friends, I really miss them. A lot. We had such a wonderful time with Brad (BWLIM), and he is possibly the most unobtrusive house guest ever. And in a giant reversal, I think Jonas misses him the most. While Brad was staying with us, Jonas found a buddy. His sad little dog eyes were glued to Brad the entire weekend (as were his front paws and his mouth—Jonas is what you could call a Severe Space Invader). Wherever Brad went, Jonas tried to follow. And when Brad finally headed home, Jonas turned to look at The Wife™ and I with his sad little eyes as if to say, “Oh crap. What am I supposed to do now that he’s gone?”
Indeed, little buddy. Indeed.
