06/09/2022
Many months ago, I went to an estate sale for a woodworker who had passed away. As I walked through this craftsman’s workshop, the noise of the many people filling their baskets with the various items for sale was drowned out by the story this shop told. The carefully placed chisels in their holders, the wood shavings on the ground, the intricate table legs he had turned on the lathe, and the mallet still left on the bench helped me to see that it was more than “just a shop.” It was the place where this man spent hours on end perfecting his craft. The place where he went to de-stress. The place he made toys for his grandchildren and the table his family ate dinner on every night. What an inspiration!
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Ultimately, I left with some boards of walnut and cherry that were still leaning against the wall, waiting to be shown the same care he had put into every other project before them. I held onto them for months, waiting for the perfect use for them that would live up to a fraction of what might have been. They were small so I had to make it count. Finally, this spring, I had an opportunity to put them to use. My wife and I bought our first house together. Coming from a tiny apartment, we never had a quality cutting board. One day, as we were preparing dinner in our new home, I had an idea for the wood I had obtained so many months before. Preparing delicious meals and eating dinner together is one of our most cherished ways to spend time together. Could there be a more perfect use for those precious boards? What seems like a simple cutting board to some is actually a history book. A history book that will be used day after day for years to come. A history book that will continue to have stories added as my wife and I spend precious moments together.