I'll never forget the time at Lake George when my dad asked me to get him a phillips head screwdriver as he bent over the open the open hatch of his Century. I was doing just fine that day up to that point. I was probably 10 years old or so. It was a warm sunny day as I recall. I can remember running around the dock wearing nothing more than cut off shorts. I must have been a sight with my little crew cut and little boy energy bursting at the seams. As every little boy does, I wanted to do the right thing when asked to do a favor for my dad. And it goes without saying that I wanted to do just as well as my brother might have under the circumstances. Dave would have known what a phillips head screw driver was. And I'm quite certain that had Dave been there that day that it would have been he and not I who was asked. Problem was, I barely knew the difference between a wrench and a screwdriver much less a phillips head and a regular screwdriver. No one ever took the time to tell me or show me. I never asked because I never needed to know. So when I handed the flat head screwdriver to my dad I knew immediately that it was not the right tool. Not the right choice at all. I came up short the one time my dad called on me to help out. He wasn't a screamer or a mean man so there were no immediate repercussions but I knew I came up short and that was all that mattered. It was such an insignificant moment as moments go but not so insignificant as I sit here some 40 years later feeling the pain of that moment as though it happened yesterday.

I think the Ev man is a chip off the old block when it comes to such things. You know, the apple that doesn't fall far from the tree? I think he has somewhat less familiarity with tool types than I had at his age. He has no mechanical aptitude that I can see nor does he have any interest or leaning that would seemingly take him in that direction. As life skills go, I think he would be well served to learn such things but he has not so far and that is a fact. I don't know for sure that he hasn't had a phillips head moment in his life but I think it's possible. I want him to be able to do these types of things for himself but he shows little or no interest. When his bike tire goes flat, he would rather not use the bike if it means having to fix it. I just don't know where that comes from. Or, do I?

The wife has insisted that I show the both of them how to fix a flat tire and I have done just that. Maybe my teaching skills leave something to be desired. I can be impatient and that probably doesn't help matters in the scheme of things. There are times when I prefer to do things myself because it's just easier . I'm left to wonder if by excluding my son I'm not doing the same thing to my son that my dad did to me so many years ago. Thanks for nothing, dad. Maybe that's the bottom line. Maybe that's what I have to fix while there is still time. As a little boy, Evan took great pleasure in helping me stack wood every fall. He enjoyed riding with me while I mowed the lawn. Just last week I asked him to help put in a mailbox and he was there with his gloves, his energy, and with a smile on his face. I made sure to compliment him on a job well done. Every child needs to know they are worthwhile and it all starts at home. Maybe I need to work a little harder to make sure that if Evan hasn't had a phillips head moment that he won't. At least not on my watch.