Today, my son and his friend climbed up the hill beside our house to play in a fort they found in a eucalyptus grove. It had been destroyed. They decided to rebuild after experiencing some distress and disappointment that someone had willfully destroyed their newly found fort. I helped them with the project despite having laryngitis and a feeling of overwhelming lethargy. After an hour or so, it was half done and they were all done. We joyfully ran down the hill and came home to popsicles and ice water. The neighbor kid looked at me in all the seriousness of a nine year old and said, I am so proud I built half a fort today.”

I am going to follow his example and take pride in my half finished projects instead of berating myself about how little I have got done or how incomplete some projects are despite my focussed attention. I will rebuild even if someone or something strikes down something I care about. Thanks for the inspiration, kid. I will build a fort with you any day.