At dawn, the sun rose and I heard a knock on my bedroom door. It was mom reminding me that it was time to wake up and get dressed for work. It was my first day going to work with dad after a long time. I knew it was going to be challenging since I knew little next to nothing about painting. Yes, dad is a house painter and just now and then he takes us to work with him. This usually means having to wake up really early in the morning and stop by at Starbucks to grab a drink and a bite to eat before embarking off to the start of a working day.
Dad owns a van where all his painting tools and materials are well kept and he has EVERY material possible to get a job done: rollers that vary in sizes, paint brushes that vary in size as well, paint sprayer machines, paint drop cloth and a bunch of tapes that also come in different colors and a lot of other things that I get to familiarize myself with by the end of the day.
When we got to the customers house I was left with awe when I looked at how big and beautiful the house was and I had no doubt that the inside would look stunning too. The house was vacant and as we walked inside we could hear our footsteps echo. This is why I like coming to work with dad because I get a glimpse of this wonderful place and most of all I get to marvel at dad as he brings it back to life. It could be easily intimidating, the amount of work that needed to be done considering the size of the house but dad looked determined to get to it for that is what he had promised his customer.
I have learned that a painter’s job is never easy because there is a lot of preparation that needs to be done before he can start rolling the the walls or spraying the ceiling. Fixtures get covered or mounted down so that paint is not splattered on them, the outlet covers are removed and the plugs are covered with tape so that it doesn’t get painted and damaged when the painter starts rolling the walls and the floor gets covered too for the same reason. I get to help with some of the minor preparations with dad’s instructions, I handle everything with care and cautious. Depending on how big the project is the preparation could take some time. Dad is very meticulous when it comes to his job, he is so dedicated because he loves to leave his customers happy after he is done with the job. He prioritizes that and that’s not hard to tell. With each passing hours we make progress, dad goes back and forth, room to room filling holes, applying caulk where it is needed and climbing ladders to get to the ceiling before we can move on with the colors.
The owners were particularly careful selecting the colors for their new house. It is easy to go wrong when it comes to choosing colors that is why dad always advices his customers to take their time customizing the colors to their liking. By the time we got to the house the owners had already sent us a list of paint colors that they had chosen and dad had them all ready. So right after all the preparation are done dad goes through the listing of colors and labels the lid of the paint cans and places them to the designated room. For instance, he leaves the can of paint in the bedroom that contains the color that that room will be painted with and he repeats that same step for all the other rooms. I work on a specific task that dad gives me which most of the time is a simple one and after I am done with it I let him know so that he can inspect it. He tells me when I do something wrong ant teaches me the right way to do it.
Once everything is set to go dad gets all his painting materials ready, this is the part where I usually get to do nothing except pass him his tools, bring them to him when he is up the ladder where he cannot reach it. Dad paints a room, two rooms and he makes it look easy with every paint brush stroke. He can cut perfect lines where a color meets the white ceiling. He does this with focus and seriousness as if his life depended on it and that is how he does everything that he cares about.
Dad is the boss, he will leave a job site at the end of the day only when he is satisfied with what he has achieved and the progress he has made. But before we can leave the house we clean, sweep the floor and gather up all of the tools because he likes it all neat and ready for the next day. He does not like a house in a messy state, he does not like to see all the trash piled up. Dad closes the door and locks it, we get in the van and head home.
This is my experience helping the man I love the most and I would love to know your experience helping your parents with any task.
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