looking through me

There’s something about the middle. He knows what needs to be done, and he does it.

Where did he learn this stuff? The eldest and I are very capable people. But we need a little more time. We need to research. We have to master a skill. There’s effort and work involved. The middle? He seems innately wired to do whatever needs to be done.

Need a new gate? He’ll build it. Lawnmower not working? He’ll fix it. Bloody wound? He’ll clean and bandage it. Need wedding pictures taken? Someone to barbecue? A room painted? A gun cleaned? A baby swaddled? He’s the man.

When I moved to Las Vegas, he and a friend packed my U-Haul. They came in to ask where the rest of my stuff was. They had it all. And oodles of room to spare in the truck. So they built a hanging system and organized all my clothes.

The move was two weeks before my birthday. And when the middle found out I would be alone in a new city he fixed that too. It’s not that he wanted to go to Vegas for the weekend or even that he cares much about birthdays; but when a thing needs to be done, he does it. I don’t remember anything about the weekend other than him installing a security lock on my apartment door and otherwise ensuring my new abode was up to his standards.

Because that’s what needed to be done.

This post is part of the 31 Days: Family series. Read the beginning, and see a full index of posts, here.