The Great Mistake

You never know when one of your mistakes will someday be the one thing that someone looks at or thinks of  as a fond memory.

I was laying in bed one night trying to fall asleep... I was thinking about the time my dad wanted to install exterior cam lights in front soffit of the cafe.   We did a lot of discussing about how he was going to do it.  After careful consideration and measurement he went about the task of cutting the hole in the soffit for the light.   I had left him to his work and went inside to work on my own project.

You see may dad was always up for a project.  I would come up with these idea or "projects"  tell him about it and he was always willing to help after giving me his opinion.  Dad told me on several occasions, "If it were me, I would not do it."  But then he would be right there to help me out.

Back to the lighting......  I could hear my dad outside cutting the hole with his saw as I was inside the cafe.   Pretty soon he comes in and says,  " Well, we have a problem. Come see what you think"  I went outside to see the lovely hole so perfectly cut in the soffit.  Looking at the hole I thought, "Well, what could be wrong?  It looks great."   My dad went on to explain to me that, though the hole was fine, the height inside the soffit was too short for the cam lighting.  In essence we could not use the lighting or the hole that he had just cut.  Dad said, "I am sorry about the hole. What do you want me to do to fix it?"  I said, "Just put back in the piece you just cut out."  Dad explained, " If I do that you will always be able to see the area I cut."  I told my dad,"Don't worry about it, it will be just fine."  So he secured the piece  back in place.  Again he had me come back out and inspect the repaired hole.  Once again saying, "I am sorry you can see where I cut still."  Once again,  I reassured him that it was just fine.

My dad's mistake (or what he thought was a mistake) turned out to be a great memory for me.  I walk by where he cut the hole almost 5 years later and it makes me smile.  My dad passed away almost two years ago from a valiant battle with colon cancer.   So you see his mistake became a "Great Mistake" for me.   I look at that hole think about my dad, our conversations and our time spent together.   I look up there and see the circle, marks, and X that he drew to mark the spot.

My dad and I did many projects together, leaving many visual memories around me.   It is funny how the one visual memory my dad would like me to have forgotten is one that brings me so much joy.

You see in life what we think might be a mistake or a unwanted thing, might turn out to be one of the best things in life.  So embrace the mistakes, the coloring on the walls.  You never know when they might become one of your greats memories.

Nebraska Prairie Girl