Projects and Purpose

"Tommy, go look outside," my dad excitedly commanded while my little sister gave me the oh-my-goodness-I-can't-believe-what-daddy-just-did eyes. I walked outside and saw that was just hours before a ten foot high, fifteen foot wide bush was now reduced to a monstrous mound of discarded branches and two sad-looking stumps. "Call Paul," he told me, "We're starting today."

What I thought was only an overambitious dream to build a backyard pool bar thought up over the weekend - "the project" as we labeled it from the start - was now a plan officially laid into action. After a day of digging and pouring cement, a couple days of cutting and leveling foundation boards, and then a long afternoon of power-screwing down vinyl decking, we had something. We weren't quite sure what it was yet, other than a nicely laid trapezoidal deck. That week I came home from my 3 hour geometry class, changed, and worked my ass off for a solid 8 hours each day. I didn't feel tired; just the opposite. I was exhilarated. We were building something from nothing. No professional consultation, no 3-d images rendered, not even a little sketch - we were reshaping wood and vinyl to fit some vague vision my father had, and then reshaping the vision to fit what we were actually producing.

The next week the walls were erected. Suddenly, we were hoisting up beams for the roof and the skeleton was finished. Then we were hammering plywood, tacking in shingles, and siding.

The work became more sporadic from there and after Paul and I found full-time jobs we lost some of the zeal of the first month. Nevertheless, for better of for worse, it stands finished, powered, and with comfy seats.

Before we started the project, I found myself in a bit of a rut. My teaching gig was starting up and I loved that, but I still didn't have anything lined up after the class. Working on something I cared about, learning new skills, and sharing that sense of accomplishment with my best friend and my dad gave me a purpose and made me forget about my uncertain immediate future.

Since we finished the project, I've been working my new job, processing new applications and answering phone calls. It is not glamorous work, but it's also not grueling work that's going to break my back or lead to a severed limb. At worst, I'd say I become a bit more nearsighted. It's definitely not something I can find much purpose in, at least not like I did putting myself into the project. I don't know about everyone else, but I've realized that I need purpose in my life, something to work towards, something that helps me be better tomorrow than I am today.