Keeping your childlike sense of awe.

For practical purposes. Not just in some hold-your-inner-child’s-hand kind of way.

Driving is one of my least favorite activities. Operating a vehicle, fast, is fun. But commuting, no thank you. Stresses me out, makes me tired, angry.

So I haven’t been looking forward to driving an hour west to get the new wire mesh to upgrade the coop floor powder coated.

As I was working through chores this morning, I started to think what a powder coating facility would be like. All the many things they could be protecting from the elements, the array of different finishes and colors.

It reminded me of the sense of awe and wonder I had for nearly everything as a child. I can still remember the smell of the wholesale candy company I found to buy blow pops to sell out of my middle school locker. The sounds of forklifts, and the moist concrete floor. The vivid memory is no doubt enhanced by my enthusiasm, and as a kid I applied this to nearly everything.

“Wow!” I thought to myself, “I can tap into this!” And I imagined exploring Gateway Powder Coating and asking a million questions. I’ll leveraging this toward other projects.

On the way there, I-70 came to a standstill, for no reason other than a bend in the highway. As I neared my exit, there was an accident. I selected a detour that likely took even more time. Despite my best efforts, I would now hit rush hour back home, making a 45–50 minute trip over an hour.

So by the time I arrived, instead of going in the front door and introducing myself to the salesperson and exploring all the possibilities of powder coating, I pulled up straight to the back dock, walked through the “employees only” door, and asked someone to help me unload. I noticed some strong smells, and a stereo playing an unfamiliar hip hop artist loudly. Other than that, I didn’t take much in, was in and out in a couple minutes, and emailed from the van that the material had been dropped off.

Try again next time…