Toolkit

Sometimes I didn’t fully appreciate gifts given to me by my late wife.  The most glaring example of this is how I reacted when she gave me—on advice from my friend Bill—a power miter saw for my birthday.

I think my exact words to Uyen after she gave me the saw were something like: “What do I need this for?”

That was thirty years ago.

Turns out, I needed the saw to build a garage, remodel a basement, construct a new house, build a cabin, and finish countless smaller projects.  I used the miter saw again just yesterday while working on my cabin’s bathroom.

About ten years ago, Uyen gave me a small clearance-sale toolkit she’d found at a hardware store.  “This might be good to keep at the cabin,” she suggested.

I didn’t think much of the toolkit.

For the last fourteen years, ever since I started building the cabin, I have been dragging tools back and forth between my home and the cabin.  During the last ten years, the cheapo toolkit sat collecting dust on a shelf alongside cans and boxes of screws and nails in the basement of the cabin.

Yesterday, I needed a small Phillips screwdriver to finish installing a venting van, but had neglected to toss one in my truck before I headed to the cabin. 

I’m not sure I can accurately describe my sentiments as I tromped down the stairs to retrieve the toolkit.  My emotions rushed from one end of the spectrum to the other.  I leapt from frustration and anger (in not having a tool I needed) to bittersweet gratitude when I unzipped the kit and found exactly what I needed.

I had to fight back tears.

I am six years beyond the ability to thank Uyen.

--Mitchell Hegman