Getting the house together for the holidays while doing the other tasks that take up your time at this time of year can be frustrating.  What’s worse is making a costly mistake that can set back your plans, and lead to a budget busting repair.  One homeowner experienced this when the ladder he climbed to put the star on top of the Christmas tree suddenly fell over.  He was ok, but the ornament was smashed, and the upper branches of the tree were broken as he frantically tried to hold on.  Worse, the ladder fell into the wall and left an ugly gaping hole.  To his family’s surprise, he started to laugh as he dusted himself off after he got up from the floor.  He pointed skyward and said, “Thanks, Dad.”

No one knew what he meant in that moment, but he explained that he used to balk at helping his father on the weekends.  When the old man tried to teach him painting, a little carpentry and plastering – skills a father would normally pass on to a son – he wouldn’t listen.  In his mind, he was going to be a legendary guitarist, so he spent his time with his high school garage band, hanging out in video arcades, and shooting 8mm movies of his friends skateboarding which he posted online.  When he skipped the opportunities to learn from his father, the old man told him, “Ok, but remember: A hard head makes a soft behind.  You’re gonna wish you knew how to do this one day.”  Clearly that day had come.

Fortunately for him, he knew he could probably find a course on Udemy that could teach him a thing or two.  And when his wife told him how to search Groupon to find a code that he could apply and get a discount – he listened.  Sure enough, there was a course that only cost $10 with a Groupon code, and it taught him just what he needed.  He patched the hole using the information he learned online.   For a while, he left it unpainted.  He said he wanted the lesson to sink in, and decided he would use this as a teachable moment for his teenaged daughter.  She was very creative and already knew a thing or two about painting.  When he set up the paint and supplies, he called her to come help.   He wasn’t surprised at all when she texted him from the basement that she was busy writing songs for her all-girl band.