the deck that love built.

a couple summers ago my dad got the crazy idea in his head that we should build a new deck. at first i was a bit skeptical of this idea and his blue prints.. but i went along with the notion for the 'father son' sake. one day i woke to the sound of boards being smashed and the crashing of falling two by fours. it was my dad tearing down the old rickety deck thats been there since i was a kid.... looks like theres no turning back now...

for the following weeks him and i spent a few extra hours a day digging, hammering, carrying, sweating, you know things guys do.. it was an interesting time, much like all of our father son projects. (let it be known that neither myself nor the pops have any engineering or carpentry know-how, just common sense, a hammer some nails and a drill and some screws.) so most of our projects are pretty much slap stick comedy to watch

for example

-dad pouring cement
-me holding support beam

dad: "ryan hold it straight"
me: "okay it's straight"

cement being poured

dad: " what the.. this not straight..."
me: " oh you meant straight that way? i thought you meant straight the other way.."
dad:" there only one straight.."

me:"..."
dad: "..."

etc etc i could go on and on i think i'm traveling further into irrelevance .. hahaha anyways, despite our lack of building credentials both me and my dad are pretty good at building things. i think it must be a japanese thing. we worked hard and long and when the very last nail was in and the paint freshly washed over top... we had ourselves a deck whaddya know! ...




sometimes the craziest ideas can also turn out to be the most fun and most worth while. you might make a few mistakes a long the way but you just have to remain optimistic. by the end you'll be glad you were a part of it. i've realized lately i love my pops. i'd do anything to protect him.. the deck that love built.

sometimes while the sun is setting and the fresh summer breeze is blowing i sit out on that deck and just let my mind drift away.