Like Father, Like Daughter?

This past weekend my Dad came out to pick up his Ford Explorer - graciously lent to me to try out camping here in Alberta. One of his friends also flew out a day later so that he would have someone to drive back with, which I thought was nice although it did inspire some housework and reno panic.

The thing about my Dad and his visits is that he is determined to help me with things that need doing around the house. No, not cleaning, or painting, or electrical or plumbing...and not always things that are high on my list. Where it gets more interesting is that my dad believes that you should do things yourself but he isn't always very good at doing them. To up the ante, he an I do not work well together but he insists on doing things with me and not on his own.

This visit I suggested that we work on finishing doorframe trim and baseboards. My front door has looked like vandals had at the casing for quite a while and in October a girlfriend hauled out a small compressor, air tank and nailer from my Dad's that I had yet to put to use. We managed to get through Friday with no renos since I booked a dentist appointment and then we had to go to the airport and then a late lunch and so on.

But Saturday the push to get into projects took over my father and by 9 a.m. he was saying the phrase that always gets my ire going "well, we better get started on this stuff or we won't get anything done y'know!". Another thing to know about my Dad is that at home he can't seem to get to bed before 3 a.m. or get up before 11:00 a.m. if allowed to run on his own schedule but when visiting me he is usually up around 8:00. During the week I am up at 6:15 (give or take a few snoozes) but weekends I like to get up about 9:00 and gradually ease into the day after a latte and some HGTV.

Well the funniest moment of the weekend came on Sunday afternoon after I said I didn't want to do more trim and had enough. Dad had been working in the back bedroom for some time and I had heard the usual cursing as he went up and downstairs cutting and recutting boards so I thought I should at least check on him (and encourage him once again to stop and just come and visit). The door was closed and when I inquired how he was doing (alright so I said "have you fallen and can't get up in there?") the door was opened with the sound of wood splintering....yes, he had actually nailed himself inside the room.

After I told a number of friends this story I started to reflect and wonder....how alike are we?

• *When I project there is generally swearing involved somewhere around the 2/3 mark in the project when things aren't going how I envisioned
• *I don't often read directions
• *I tend to rush towards things being "done" and maybe skimp on details and can be a bit sloppy (see recent trim painting)

I do at least feel a bit relieved that I can see some differences too...

• *I prefer to project alone
• *I refuse to push on when it's not going well and will put things down and walk away (usually this is when I consult the internet)
• *I never start a project before 10 a.m. and often start late at night

I have heard that women turn into their mothers but is it possible that in this day and age we're at risk of turning into our fathers too??

I just hope I've also inherited some of the best of both too!