Is your shop just that?

[Handy Don 12,235]

Great topic. Thank you, gentlemen, for some thoughtful replies.

 

Some years ago my Dad and and my stepmother decided to move to an apartment in an independent living community. Surprising to me were the two incredibly well-equipped shops supported by the management company. One for metal and one for wood. Joining cost $1 a month and an extra $10 per year got you a small locker for personal stuff. Top of the line stationary tools (I'd never seen a 12" wide x 48" long belt sander before), an array of the best hand and small power tools, as well.  Among the members were some amazingly skilled furniture builders, carpenters, mechanics, and metal workers. I had to be tested if I wanted to use any power tools with my Dad present (whew! I passed).

My Dad spent a big chunk of every day there fixing things for neighbors and working on smaller projects until his illnesses finally confined him to his apartment and ended his life. When we cleaned out his locker the only thing in it was his work apron with two pencils in the chest pocket which grandson has now.

[formariz 11,987]

Thank you everyone for your input on this topic. I don’t feel so alone now. Very interesting replies to this post with which I get a better insight on my own feelings about it. I may in this reply  go a little off the subject but it is still related to it since it is not that simple. I see that age has a lot to do with. In my case my culture and heritage also has a lot to do with it. I come from a place where moving from one house to another is a foreign thought and not easily understood. Many live in homes inherited from family or in homes built by them early in their lives which is the ultimate goal. Moving several times in one’s life and terms such as “starter house” is a foreign concept. I realize that today may be a little different due to job opportunities and other circumstances. 
 Amongst us and our friends when we get together this topic constantly comes up perhaps due to the age group we are in. It is always a stressful and frustrating conversation for me for I seem to be the single one that feels this way. Everyone is always talking about ”downsizing “ and moving to another state and similar ideas.  There is always the mention of this and that other persons that did it and are doing great.  I don’t want to do anything because everyone else is doing it. I want to do what is right for us not the trending thing to do. 
it seems to me that people fall into these traps early in life and spend their lives always moving always having a mortgage to pay and spending more on the bigger and better place. Then eventually it gets to a point that it can no longer be sustained at an older age and they need to downsize when retired. 
 To me that seems to be the inability of continuing one’s regular way of living due to those earlier choices. 
 This is the first and only house we ever had. We bought at a young age and the goal was always to pay it in full as quickly as possible which we did. We had and raised our children here where they and us made lifelong friends. We improved  it over the years and molded it to our needs and taste and made it ours and part of us. It is not a neutral place, it reflects who we are and our culture. People also love it and there are always constant statements to that effect such as “ regardless of how many time we have come here, there are always things to discover”. 

 We have built and have a sense security and wellbeing here which is priceless. It may not be the  best or the greatest but it is ours and loved by our children and grandchildren. 
  My children jokingly sometimes make the comment that one day when we are gone the decision of what to do with the place will be a total nightmare. I always reply that it is very easy. Someone needs to move in. Plenty of possibilities for that to happen. Their reply is always that I seem to take pleasure with that thought. Exactly right.