THE FOUNDATION OF A DREAM COME TRUE
I was deeply moved by the depth of her faith in me as a master craftsman and extraordinary homebuilder. The plans and specifications that she rolled out and laid before me were of a huge Victorian mansion. I was somewhat blown away by the detailed elevations of mansard roofs, Queen Ann dormers, and endless other ornate trim. My God, I thought, this may be way out of my league. “You know, this will be very expensive to build, and quite frankly, it seems rather . . . well . . . Grand, don’t you think?” I asked.

“I have always wanted this house,” she said with strong conviction in her voice. “I even cut out a picture of a house just like it and hung it on my bathroom mirror. This is going to be my home, and whatever it takes, I’m going to get it built.”

It definitely would be a very cool place to build, I thought. The rooms are large and the lay out is more than adequate to handle her family’s growing needs.

She pointed to the library on the first floor and said, “This will be the playroom for now. That way I can keep an eye on the kids while I’m in the kitchen. I’ve even picked out wallpaper for some of the rooms!”

Her excitement was contagious, and I truly believed that her dream home was already a reality in her eyes, and the only thing in her way now was getting it built.

“Well, let’s talk about this for a minute,” I said. “You know, I’ve never actually built anything like this before,” I confessed. “It could take a very long time to get it done. Will you be able to help out with any of the work?” I asked.

“Sure!” “I can help on some afternoons and weekends!” she exclaimed.

“…Ok, I’ll build it for you!” I said.

Tears filled her eyes, and she hugged me tightly and said, “Thank you Daddy . . . I love you!”

* * * * *

Looking back, I’m surprised at how well it did actually go. My daughter was faithful to her promise of helping, if only in her encouragement, tenacity, and unending patience, rather than much actual labor. But, I have to say, it had to be her encouraging enthusiasm and great attitude that helped me so much to see through those two years of construction.

When her new home was complete, it had everything that she had dreamed of it having from all the ginger bread stuff, right down to the wallpaper. “Well honey,” I said proudly, admiring the beautiful new home, “I guess there’s nothing left to do now but move in, huh?”

Mom seemed very delighted as well, perhaps even more so than we, to finally see the project’s completion, and remarked, “This is truly wonderful! Now, can you please get it off the dining room table and put it in your room?”