I Can Do This, Too

Yesterday evening, I had the pleasure of enjoying sunlight late into the night. Up here in Michigan, that’s how you know the long winter is truly over; the evenings are brighter, the air softer and warmer.

As the dusk light faded, I took some photographs and my husband worked on our car in the driveway. I tiptoed around plants and fumbled my camera as he worked his own sort of dance with his tools.

Soft, quiet, warm.

After some time, I joined him and helped replace a CV axel. He taught me how to place a jack stand, showed me the components of the wheel, and let me hammer the new rod into place. I don’t know the language well, but I can now change a tire, and I understand how the different pieces operate. Most importantly, I’m not afraid to tear apart a car and trust I could fix some issues on my own in the future.

Another anxiety softened. I can do this, too.

I’m grateful for his guidance and for taking all my nervous questions. I’d like to learn more, like how to change the oil and refill some of the engine fluids. The more I learn, the more I gain, the more I can teach others.

In closing, I’m reminded of a poem I recently read in Michele Lee’s “Being a Woman, Overcoming”, called “A Girl”. In it she reflects how she never learned certain tasks simply because other’s didn’t think them fit for a girl to learn. I certainly have a few of my own memories in which I felt overlooked because of my sex, and hope to try my best to avoid this pattern while raising my children. Food for thought…

Photo Credit: my image
© Samantha Burgett