Tim has been working a lot of hours lately, and he's pretty tired, so I decided to pack up the kids and drive out to the shop this evening to surprise him with a visit! And from there we would head to my parents' house. That way when he is done working tonight he can drive twenty minutes to be with us instead of over an hour.
Once I got off from work, I picked up the kids, ordered pizza, and packed the bags and the van as quickly as I could. Granted it looks like Hurricane Joanna hit the rest of the house, but I will deal with that when we get back! It was definitely worth it! I loaded up the kids and we headed out. Tim didn't expect a thing and was super surprised when we pulled up to the shop!
The kids were glad to see daddy!
They were fascinated watching him work!
It's funny how familiar the shop is to me. No, it's not one of the ones my parents had while I was growing up, but walking inside is so familiar. The smell of wood and lacquer. The sound the spray booth makes when it turns on, and the loud rumble that follows. The sound of the spray gun as it swishes back and forth covering the wood with stain.
Seeing my children wandering around the shop was both strange and comforting. It was my childhood. Sure they are different kids, it's a different shop, but the games were the same... Weaving in between dollies of drying panels, asking a million questions.
My sister and I spent countless hours in our parents' shop growing up. No one was there to play us. We created our own adventures, earned our first 'pay checks' and entertained ourselves with boxes of rags, rolls of masking tape, and various paint buckets. It was a unique childhood, but one I am grateful to have experienced. I am happy that at least to some extent, my children are experiencing it too!