New tools today. I had my first, albeit brief turn with a Sawzall. We were taking out the old windows in the kitchen with that bad old insulation. That thing cuts right through nails. And then I also got a lot of time with an intense staple gun that was hooked up to an air compressor. Remember the kitchen where I blistered my hand pulling staples out of the floor? This was the opposite. I was helping put down the luan plywood to prep the floor for tiles. I think we put in about 2500 staples. That was fun. And I got to use the circular saw (I think that's what it is called.) I've done that before, but it is also fun.

The tool that is still giving me the most trouble, that I'm having the most difficulty mastering seems the simplest: the hammer.

My son has started his first season playing lacrosse. He has improved partly because he has realized that it is not only acceptable, but necessary to plow right into his opponents and knock them over. It's OK to poke them with the stick. He gets praised for something I'm sure I've told him not to do.

I'm in a similar place with the hammer. I'm just not swinging hard enough. For the most part, it is OK if the wood takes a little dent. It's not that I'm actually afraid, just not used to using force. And then there's the aim part. I'm still working on hitting the nail on the head. And I'm even worse with my left hand. I just need to be fiercer, bolder. It's great to work where that is encouraged.

Why are the things that seem the simplest the most difficult?