Next Stop: Everest

I installed a ceiling fan in the baby’s room yesterday. There are no words. Just that, I installed a ceiling fan in the baby’s room yesterday which is tantamount to me telling you that I performed a successful brain surgery on myself.

The electrician was at our house fixing a number of gross electrical hazards and I asked him if he thought I should try to pick up a trade in order to be more marketable in the job world. I think I was much more comfortable with keeping this discussion on a theoretical level rather than actual reality where the harsh daylight tends to expose way too much. So he asked me if I was handy to which I told him that I was the opposite of handy. A lot of silence ensued (other than my wife laughing in the other room). I took this to mean that I don’t have a chance at either and he didn’t know how to let me down easy.

Later on in the morning, my wife asked him if he would install a ceiling fan for us and he said he would for an extra $50, but he challenged me to do it and told me that he’d be there to walk me through it step by step.

“There’s your chance, “ he said.

At first, the thought of actually trying to do this frightened me, but inspired me at the same time. So I said I would do it.

He said, “Good man,” which made me feel really good about myself just saying yes like I did. I realized how easy it was to say yes to things and decided in my mind to say yes a lot more often. It was really exhilarating.

I went to Lowe’s and bought the fan. Check. I took it home and opened up the box. Check. Then, I started reading the instructions. Wow. Cue the screeching brakes. I felt like a four-year-old trying to decipher the Hammurabi’s code. It took literally seconds before the pool of nay-saying rose to the top of my head and I figured out what to do.

I told the electrician to do it.

He tried to convince me, but I was dead-set on giving up and he made some mention about that probably not boding well for my future in trades to which I agreed and then left the house to bury my sorrows in fast food.

Then I called Richelle to tell her how it just wasn’t happening for me, but with a few pushes and prods from her I decided I would try again.

And then I did it. Thank the Lord. The electrician held my hand through the whole thing and I’m sure it was a little bit like watching a caveman assemble a modern car, but I actually physically installed a ceiling fan.

It’s hard to describe how good that feels.