The Importance Of Having A Handy Partner

Growing up, my parents and siblings didn’t know how to do ONE practical thing.

At home, if a bulb burned out, the car battery died, or the oven was unplugged, we needed to call a handy man to fix it. No way around it. In one of our many family car trips, we got a flat tire… my dad and older brother took 2 hours to change that tire! 2 whole hours. 120 minutes. TRUE STORY! Taking that long to change a tire doesn’t only mean that you are unpractical, but that if the end of the world should come, you are guaranteed to die within seconds.

In a way, being surrounded by a bunch of useless people in your childhood is a blessing in disguise because once you have lived life with a handy partner there is no going back – it becomes a Tinder requirement.

Hence, George enters the scene.

When I met George 15 years ago (holy smokes. That is a 1 and a 5 next to each other), I was impressed. Aside from changing bulbs, charging batteries and plugging appliances, the guy fixed his own cars, repaired all his gadgets and changed tires in less than 3 minutes. Can you believe that? This is huge for those of us unschooled in functional activities.

Now that 15 years have passed, I am seriously spoiled and dependant on this man that repairs and builds whatever he feels like.

Now, don’t get me wrong. George has many faults but those have been overlooked thanks to this one advantage. Every time I have a foot out the door, I am reminded about the end of world being near and my only chance of survival being that man that I am trying to leave behind… which makes me wonder: how do people survive with partners that are not handy? When stuff breaks in the house, who fixes it? When you buy a vintage lamp that doesn’t turn on, who mends it? When you have to install wallpaper in your kids’ room, who does it?

It is a luxury to walk around a flea market, see whatever old piece you wish, and know you have this guy at home that can repair it. My kids, for example, blindly believe that George would fix their toys no matter the damage they inflict on them, and he does, except for that plastic train toy they tore into pieces and then flushed down the toilet. One thing is to be a handy man; another one is to be God.

This is the Halloween robot costume that George did for the kids. Lights, switches, and a robot voice transformer included. Very sweet, don’t you think?

Here is a photo of George with Victor doing their famous standup trick. Victor was only 7 months. This is not handy, but pretty adorable.

How about you? Do you have somebody handy in your life? If not, how do you solve daily problems like a broken washing machine or a dead battery? Would love to hear.

Also, a post about being called after your husband’s name, how many kids is enough, and, camping in Idyllwild.