...grab yer pahtnah, and Dosey, D'OH!!!

Some days it's like your being forced to square dance.  Anyone over forty can probably remember having been forced, in gym class, to engage in the act.  The awkward moment when they pair you up, then make you prance about to unpopular music, while the "cool" girl or guy you happened to be paired with performs awkward physical contortions in an attempt to keep maximum distance between you and them. Yes, "one step forward, two steps back!" pretty much seems the mantra on day's such as yesterday. 
Day started off with promise, with a repair awaiting me when I arrived, but as quickly as that was done, the day was silent.  Sure, went on with my work, finishing up a sweet Mixie frame single speed out of a classic Puch, with a split top tube.  Love those rides!  Light weight frame, made even more so with everything stripped off and lots of alloy.  Then, in search of the next project, alighted upon the men's JC Higgins. Yes, have been talking about getting to that one, but given the amount of work, subconsciously, I must have been avoiding it.  Once I got started, I figured out why.  Ugh.  25 minuets to get of the retaining nut for the brake arm!  And that was for starters!  Worked on the rear wheel, in an attempt to retain all the original parts, and it surprisingly cleaned up REAL well!  Unfortunately, being the overzealous nimnut I am, I didn't bother to check the spokes BEFORE cleaning the hub and rim!  OY!  Far to rusted, they just started to pop as I tried to tighten them, and of course, the rim is a 26 1 3/4 (REAL old school) so I had NO spokes that would work!  Of course, I saved the sweet hub before scrapping the rest.  This happenstance left me a tad deflated.  Mind you, in most other cases such disappointment is usually met with a snicker and resounding "BACK TO FORMULA!", but yesterday, I was informed that Elijah was let go at his new job.  Perhaps, such a unfortunate situation should not effect me so, but, as a parent, sometimes you feel your childrens disappointment as much as they.  He was quite gung ho about the job, and seemed keen to work hard at it.  True, I was not there with him each day, but one sure sign of his enthusiasm was the fact that each morning he actually got himself up, and dressed and out the door in more then enough time to arrive early!  That may seem an unimpressive feat to most folks, but trust me, for him, that is MONUMENTAL!!  I must say, however, that it is not an enormous surprise to me.  It's not a shot or negative reflection on him, but I know my kids, and Elijah is no salesman.  I've been in the business for 35 years, I've held a position of training salesman for years, and one of the most important abilities in a position like that, is to be able to spot a "natural born".  Those are the ones you need, as they truly are born into it.  You can teach someone the pitch, the material or product or service, give them all the tools, but if they don't posses that certain unquantifiable "spark", you're just wasting your time.  He doesn't have that spark.  And that's OK, but he choose a position in one of THE most difficult forms of selling, "telemarketing"!  Oh, I did that for a brief moment back in the nineties, before everyone had caller ID, or cell phones and such, and it was nigh on heart wrenching THEN!  I wouldn't touch the task nowadays if you paid me!  Well...they would be....but that's not the point! 
enh.  You get what I'm driving at.
I'm trying to get him to focus his search on what his strengths are, and yet he seems to gravitate to his weaknesses!  No amount of coaching seems to deter him from this sojourn.  He's looking into day care and babysitting (because he occasionally watches his siblings) but I have to remind him of his inability to control his temper.  The LAST thing you want to do is loose your temper on someone else's child!  WOOF!  Or he's looking back into sales or office work.  I know his motivation, and that is to have a position devoid of physical labor, but, as I have to keep reminding him NOT so gently, he pretty much pigeon holed himself into a menial, entry level, "bottom rung of the ladder" type job when he failed to finish his education.  He needs to get into a company, with room for growth, and bust his ass and get noticed, then slowly move up the ladder. 
Oh trust me, I have no misconceptions that this is going to take some diligent intervention on a continual basis until he gets it!  And that, perhaps, is part of the reason why I'm a little long in the face.  Being able to SEE reality is a lot easier then getting someone else to!  Especially a nineteen year old who already knows everything!
ARRGH!!!
Of course, the day could not be complete without the events of the homestead mirroring those of the shops.  With all the upheaval of the holiday and kiddos being around 24/7. Angi has had her hands full (and I DO NOT envy her the task!) and even though I alleviate it a little by taking a couple different kids with me each day, she still is tasked (KAHN!!!!!) with  the remainder.  And it aint easy!  Miranda is becoming SO dependent upon her of late, that Angi pretty much is unable to move from a particular chair in the corner, for if Miranda is unable to look up from whatever she is doing and see Momma dutifully sitting there, our little miss goes ape$#!+!  Makes going potty, right difficult!  The running gag is, Miranda is the Momma wedge and Suzanne is the Daddy wedge, ensuring that, even if we wanted too, we'd never be able to have another child! 
Well, the day continued, unabatedly quiet.  I had more folks coming in to sell me rides, then anything else.  And even though a couple were real sweet "Diamonds in the rough" some of the sellers were thinking a wee too high given the fact they were "vintage"
(That reminds me of a classic line from a new movie we watched a few weeks back "Eco", where the kids go into a pawn shop and the owner is having an "interaction" with a would be seller, telling him "VINTAGE?! You can't say vintage, only I can say vintage!")
Trust me, just because something is old doesn't mean it's "vintage". 
Then, at two minuets before close, we had two repair drop offs and a Mom came in and snagged up the Mongoose BMX, I had JUST finished, for her son.  Thankfully, the day was not a complete wash.
SO, today, I am going to cinch up my belt, and go at it again! 
Once the repairs are banged out, I'm going to take another crack at the Higgins, and try and not let it get the best of me! 
OKAY, I best get a rollin' as those repairs are NOT going to do themselves!
Oh...but if it were the case
(dream sequence)
Ok Christine.....show me.

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