Quick! How many tools do you have?

I'm shocked sometimes when I go into a home and there is a minor problem that hasn't been taken care of in a long time and when the owner complains and I offer to fix it, the conversation goes like this: "Honey, go get the screwdriver!".

If you are a one screwdriver home, you should think about expanding your skill set as well as your tool set. I understand that not everyone wants to be Bob Villa, but no one really wants to be Ernest P. Worrell either.

More to the point though, there are "tools" for everyone to help develop and use their interests.

A few screwdrivers and a socket set will pretty much let a teenager take apart a worn out lawnmower engine. A paint brush, drop cloth and a can of latex paint can get a kid going with painting. A needle and thread with a bit of cloth... A reel lawnmower... With a booth at a local fair... With a toolbox worth of tools, an old car or truck can be taken apart and sold piece by piece... With a violin and some lessons... With a squeegee and a bucket Jr or Miss is in the window washing business... With a pair of hair clippers and a few siblings...

Anyway, you get the idea.

When I was a kid, I hated going to "boring" houses. I still have a bit of that in me. I don't need Tinkertoys and Lincoln Logs now. I would rather grow chickens, have a worm farm, aquaponics, garden, permaculture design, run a sawmill, and anything else that piques my interest.

Not everyone has the same interests. Find out what yours are and develop them. Find out what your kids interests are and give them the tools and encouragement to develop their interests. When you discover interests, you are also heading in the direction of discovering gifts.

Developing your interests is a bit like going to college, but you can do it while you are in high school, and it is a lot more fun.

There's life after school,
Luke Townsley
SaltMakers.com