An old barn roof with a few leaks and a sixteen-year-old grandson… Now there, my friends, is a perfect combination. Well, at least with this grandson, it is.

My oldest son and his family just moved from Alaska to Colorado. Our place here is conveniently located exactly halfway to Murray, Kentucky. My son’s mother and three of his siblings live there and they wanted a reunion. So, my oldest and his wife accepted my invitation for them to stop overnight here on their way over to Murray and then again on their way back.

Since I really could use the help on replacing the roof on our little barn and horse shed, I asked if their oldest-still-at-home two boys could stay and help. Peter couldn’t but Johnny could.

So he did.

Yesterday, we spent the morning stripping off the old shingles on one section. It’s hard work, especially with “modern” shingles. Self-sealing shingles were introduced the year I was born but were not commonly used until quite a bit later than that. Strips of sticky stuff, much like tar, melt slightly in hot weather and bond to the bottom of the shingles. These were really well bonded! But, thanks to the help and our mutual determination and persistence, we got ‘er done. Well, at least that section.

Last night, after sunset, we started putting on the new shingles. While we worked, I told Johnny, “You’re the same age your dad was when he helped me put new shingles on our house at Gower.” I’m sure he was quite struck with that sort of generational connection. I know I was.

Watching him work, seeing how quickly he figured things out, how well he listened and immediately applied the learning, and listening to his thoughts during our break conversations, I gained a much greater appreciation for his attitude and intelligence. Family traits, of course… wink, wink.

We set up a work light and stayed at it until ten o’clock. (Apologies to any neighbors whose late evenings were punctuated with the sounds of my compressor and nail gun.) We didn’t finish putting new shingles on that section but we gained ground for sure. With thunderstorms in today’s forecast, all gains matter.

But the one that mattered most to me was gaining this new experience with another grandson. This adds more to a rich legacy of working with Johnny’s papa and his uncles, and his brother, Josh, who helped me build another shed nearly three years ago. It is how the Arnett men and boys have bonded together for multiple generations. And many other folks as well, I reckon.

Carrying on traditions of work and perseverance, faith and fellowship. Sweat of the brow, work of the hands, beliefs that matter. Stuff that matters, stuff that lasts, as Guy Clark sang.