A couple of weeks ago a five year memory flashed up on Facebook. We were in Tasmania renovating our little old cottage in Deloraine.

History repeats. Five years on, and Paul’s again helping our local builder, Colin, with our latest project. He was dubbed, ‘youngest apprentice in Tassie’ then. Now he’s been dubbed the ‘youngest apprentice in Busselton’.

I watch Paul watching Colin as his mind works overtime to learn. At the end of the day I can see he has a few aches and pain he didn’t have the day before, but I can see he’s as happy as a pig rolling around in the mud. It occurs to me it’s because our minds don’t grow weary with age, not as long as long as we’re not fuddled by disease or medication. We remain young and eager to learn, and eager to do. It’s only the aging bones that sometimes prevent us from keeping up with our spritely minds.

I think I can definitely see the young apprentice Paul once was as he watches the masters of this trade that’s new to him. He’s always had a healthy respect for people who have learnt a trade and apply their trade well. He’s happy to watch, copy, and learn a few new tricks from the masters of a trade. He loved his own trade as a sheet metal worker, a trade that relies on precise measurements and accuracy. That’s Paul, precise and accurate. The little bits of knowledge he picks up from other master tradesmen, makes him a great handyman to have around the house. I often think how awful it would be to share your life with a man who didn’t know how to put a screw in the wall. (Hope that doesn’t sound to sexist) Yes, for me its a real pleasure to be sharing my life with this jack of all trades and a well respected master of one.