You Learn

"You live, you learn, you breathe, you learn" - Alanis Morissette

Back in May of 2015, I had a very strange conversation with a good friend.  We were talking about electronics, and I had said that I already knew the basics.  I had taken college physics, and had to learn the basics of circuit design.  If need be, I could re-learn anything that I might have forgotten.  I also knew some other stuff from, well, life.

"Okay, well, you know how when you go to wire in old speakers, and you have to strip the wires first?"

"Um, no."  She had no idea what I was talking about. 

I thought about it for a bit, and I realized that she and I had to be right on the edge of that generation.  My older sister had records and cassettes.  I had cassettes and CD's.  Many people my age had an old hi-fi system in their homes.  Others my age will think that's a typo, and will say, "Do you mean wi-fi?"

So, anyway, we got into this conversation, one thing led to another, and I said that I wanted to learn wiring.

See, my house was built in 1905.  There is a no electrical socket in the downstairs bathroom.  There used to be one, but it was throwing sparks when my husband plugged in his electric razor so he just removed it completely.  I let him do all of the electrical work when we were married.  After my divorce, I asked my dad whenever I needed something done around the house.  He has the expertise.  He's built entire houses before.  I had no problems relying on the men in my life to handle "these things."

But then 2015 happened.  Shit went down.  It was a wake-up call in a lot of ways.

My sister knows "these things."  (She has also built and repaired houses.)  My stepmother knows these things.  (She was a single mom for a lot longer than me.  When we had this conversation, she told me, "Well, yeah.  I had to learn it, so I learned it.)  So it's not a question of electrical wiring, or plumbing, or changing the oil in your car, as being innately masculine things.

I just never learned.

So anyway... I had a leak in 2014, and it ruined the ceiling in one of my rooms.  My dad and my sister replaced the ceiling, but in doing so, they had to obstruct the ceiling light fixture.  My dad said that eventually, he'd remove it, and replace it with a new one.  Since it wasn't that important, my kids and I just used a floor lamp. 

Until yesterday.

I.  Helped.  Fix.  The.  Light.

Granted, my dad did 90% of the work, and I handed him stuff and watched him do it, but I had told him that I wanted to learn how, and he taught me.  He made sure I understood, as he did each step, why he was doing it.  And I didn't stand on the floor next to his ladder, and hand things up, the way that I had always done.  I stood on the step-stool next to him, and worked alongside my dad.

I know that in the grand scheme of things, it all seems small and silly.

This knowledge isn't life-or-death.  I probably won't ever profit from this knowledge financially.  (Probably)  It's not going to cure disease or help me make great art or better humanity in any way. 

But I feel incredible.

I feel amazing.

I wanted to do a thing, and then I did the thing.

Anybody need a light?