Doing things that we don't know how to do --- Yet!

One of the things on our list of "what we're looking for in our first house" was a walk-out basement. Well, the house we eventually bought had other things on the list, but not that. So, after living there for a year, we decided to make our own door. The back-hoe came and dug a hole, then someone sawed through the concrete and poured a retaining wall and steps. Voila! A walk-out basement.

(spot for door) (spot for stairs)

That exposed an ugly window, which had been hidden in the window well. So, Mr. Handyman decided to do something about it and frame it out properly. Together we drew up a design, bought materials, and figured out how to make it happen. After a long day of work, and multiple trips to the hardware store as we discovered changes that needed to be made, that evening I attended the General Women's Meeting where Virginia Pearce spoke. Two quotes she shared have stayed with me ever since --


Vincent van Gogh reportedly said, “I am always doing what I can’t do yet in order to learn how to do it,” and Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.”


Now whenever I come across something that I don't know how to do, yet know must be done, I remember that we had hands-on experience with this principle. (Oh, and that basement entrance with it's beautifully framed window looked really nice. Too bad I never took any pictures of it!)

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