susan hayward photography : Book Case Solved

November 30, 2009

Book Case Solved

So it was the week of Thanksgiving and my sister and her family came for a visit. "Hey," I said to my brother-in-law, as casually as I could, "I've got this bookcase dilemma." I went on to tell him all about the double-sided, nine-foot book case I brought home from a library sale. My brother-in-law thought for a moment. Then he said, "Let's go take a look at it."

We went out to the garage where the beast lay waiting. I explained my plan to slice the thing in half to use as a book case in the house. "But I'm too chicken to do it," I said. My brother in law walked from one end of the case to the other, stepped back, and thought some more.

"I could cut it for you. It'd be easy. I'd have it done in thirty minutes," he said. And I didn't doubt that he meant it.

This is the thing about my brother-in-law. He's never laughed at my kooky ideas (well, at least my home improvement ideas). Instead, he helps me with them. Like the time when I was twelve and ripped up the carpet in my bedroom because I preferred the wood floor below. Instead of scolding me, or telling me there was no way I could make it work, he told me how to refinish it. And the floor looked great when I was done. That little experience gave me confidence in my ideas. Let me rephrase that. My brother-in-law's confidence in my ideas gave me confidence in myself.

But I'm older now. And I've grown kind of wussy. So when my bro-in-law offered to cut the bookcase, I took him up on the offer. It took a little longer than we thought it would, and it was slightly more tricky, but by golly, he did it. And it looks great in the house--just as I had imagined it. It's been hard, but I've managed to restrain myself from telling my skeptical husband, "I told you so!"

Thanks to my brother-in-law, we now have our own library. You rock, bro!

All hail the mighty brother-in-law!