One of my earliest memories of my house is when I was about 8 and it was a couple of weeks to the lunar new year. Back then, the house was sparsely furnished and in need of a fresh coat of paint. So, my Dad got to his hands, bought a can of paint and couple of paint rollers. That’s my Dad – always a hands-on person. As his children, he also wanted my brother and me to learn his traits and trade. At 15, he could already work the drill and electric saw to perfection. At 17, he could differentiate his U-traps from P-traps. And at 20, not even the most complex of electrical circuits could intimidate him. That’s the gulf separating his generation from ours. While technical work skills were essential during his time, the same cannot be said today.
Education takes precedence in modern time. And its tireless pursuit leaves little time for our generation to pick up such proficiencies. Most of today’s generation can’t even fix a blown light-bulb, much less a leaking tap. While we try to make up for such inadequacies through D&T lessons in schools, it doesn’t help that students are immersed in designing pencil holders and key-chains rather than being taught how to fix and manage everyday problems. My Dad actually finds our dependency on Home-fix professionals and our lack of workmanship implausible and appalling. And that is when he decided to take matters into his own hands, literally.
Like artisans of yesteryear, it’s the wish of every Dad to impart his life skills and knowledge to his children. My Dad’s no exception either. Much like the importance of passing on the family line, he is a very traditional Chinese family man at heart. And this is possibly the key reason why I conceded to taking on his challenge of painting the house. It’s about time after putting it off for 12 years. I vaguely recalled us being clad in T-shirts and shorts, topped off with newspaper-folded hats. Then, my brother and I were just Daddy’s little helpers, enjoying ourselves and being more of hindrances than assistance. But I’m proud to say that we still managed to complete the job before the new year, and even had time to put up decorations.
That was 1994. Fast forward 15 years to present time. My Dad attempted something similar this new year, albeit on a smaller scale. He ended up with an aching back and a dose of Mum’s chastisement. Read back if you want to know more. And so, I completed my full-time National Service (thank God) and my Dad thought this would be a good time to rope me in to help restore colours to the house. But of course, this time the roles are reserved. I would be the main man while he would only be playing a supporting role. I even had to buy the paint and rollers myself but I didn’t mind as I take this as a challenge to myself to get out of my comfort zone. Besides, I don’t have a job yet, so I have to contribute something to the household.
I have no doubt that the next 2 weeks will be a lot of hard work. As compared to 15 years ago, there is definitely much more furniture and books in my house today. The floor area hasn’t expanded over the years, so the house is more cluttered which makes available working space very small and tight. Without much experience in painting houses, there will certainly be a steep hill to surmount. But I think a fantastic learning opportunity like this shouldn’t be missed. And age is catching up to my Dad, so if I refuse to learn today, I don’t know if I still might have such a chance in the future. Come on, how hard can a paint job be, right?