Bird Feeder

The old shed smells of wood and saw dust, it was just a small work bench with some tools laying around with a coffee maker in the corner and two old coffee cups on a shelf, it did have electricity but just about every circuit had a plug that went with it. Working with your hands wasn't something that David was good at but his grandfather was a master craft man who made furniture from scratch and sold them to his neighbors and in town. He got so good he could make four uncovered couches in a day and spend the night upholstering them, but David wasn't his grandfather today he was in here to make something small for his mothers birthday, something she would appreciate because of her hobby of bird watching. So David chose the wood, it would be oak, and he chose the tools he would need and to work on the small project he went, he started cutting the long plank of wood meticulously making sure the lines were good and straight then he pegged the pieces together and formed a door at the front. The whole project didn't take him no more than a half hour to finish it, but he liked the way it looked just the way it was no paint needed. When he arrived at his mothers house the cars were already in the front yard and in the drive way so he parked under the small tree on the side of the yard and went in with his gift wrapped. "David baby come here and give me a hug," Davids mother yelled across the room when he came inside the house. David hugged his mother and said, "Happy birthday Mom I think you're going to like this." His mother opened the gift first before anyone else's because this was her one and only son, and when she saw what it was she began to tear up, "Just like one of your grand fathers, he gave me one like this forty years ago when I turned ten and I loved it." David knew he had done a good thing, his grand father passed away a month before and it had been hard on everyone but to see the look on his mothers face was enough for him to know he had done well. Before the evening was done she walked outside with David and had him nail the feeder into the side of the tree and she said "Thank you baby you've got your grandfathers touch, only how did you master how to make this so fast it took Dad at least an hour to get one of these done." David smiled, "When I was in his shed it was like my hands were guided by a force unseen, I've never made one of these before so that tells me I wasn't alone in making something from love."

Sometimes when love is your only guide that is when your finest work can be revealed, Grandpa's shed, Grandma's apple pies, Dad's Garden, or Mom's protective eye. All of these things leave an impression on children that can never be lost.