Work More, Talk Less
Oct. 12th, 2017 09:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thisnewdayYesterday, I introduced the grandson to the router, a portable electric tool which is used in cabinetmaking to join parts and create decorative details. But because what we're doing is so basic, simple butt-joints and corner-rounding, I took a minute to explain the other uses of the tool and then set him to work with it.
And that's what I need to do more of: simple explanations followed by quick transitions into the actual work. Jason is just not a kid who tolerates well the kind of long-winded discourses which his grandfather is prone to delivering. He's like, ditch the poetry, show me the product.
Which is why I find it necessary to unload here on my long-suffering LJ and DW friends. And why there are so few of them, lol. Just think of yourselves as a highly select audience, I guess. There's gotta be some solace to be had in this.
Anyway, we've got one more unit to take back down, from its temporary mounting on the table, for these "finishing touches." Last night, I went ahead and finished the two that we'd taken down before he left.
As I worked, I reflected on how much I'd forgotten since the last time I'd done this, and had to re-learn, and how much the kid and I have actually learned together.
I think there's a lot to be gained by doing this, for him and for me. We just have to overcome a few things, like his impatience with detail and my tendency indulge in too much of it.
One of my favorite bumper stickers, which I've never had on my own car but have seen around town, is the one that says, "Wag more, bark less."
Which is totally appropriate for me, just as it is. But when it comes to the way that I work with my grandson, it could also be, "Work more, talk less."
Which I'm sure would work for him...
LPK
Dreamwidth
10.12.2017
And that's what I need to do more of: simple explanations followed by quick transitions into the actual work. Jason is just not a kid who tolerates well the kind of long-winded discourses which his grandfather is prone to delivering. He's like, ditch the poetry, show me the product.
Which is why I find it necessary to unload here on my long-suffering LJ and DW friends. And why there are so few of them, lol. Just think of yourselves as a highly select audience, I guess. There's gotta be some solace to be had in this.
Anyway, we've got one more unit to take back down, from its temporary mounting on the table, for these "finishing touches." Last night, I went ahead and finished the two that we'd taken down before he left.
As I worked, I reflected on how much I'd forgotten since the last time I'd done this, and had to re-learn, and how much the kid and I have actually learned together.
I think there's a lot to be gained by doing this, for him and for me. We just have to overcome a few things, like his impatience with detail and my tendency indulge in too much of it.
One of my favorite bumper stickers, which I've never had on my own car but have seen around town, is the one that says, "Wag more, bark less."
Which is totally appropriate for me, just as it is. But when it comes to the way that I work with my grandson, it could also be, "Work more, talk less."
Which I'm sure would work for him...
LPK
Dreamwidth
10.12.2017
