5/10/2016
Why I became a carpenter in my fifties Chatelaine
Wh I ecame a carpenter in m
ie
After her husand died, Mo Nordstrom decided to uild their dream home with her own two hands. May 10, 2016 Mo Nordstrom
Photo, Jesse Savage. I wa excited when m huand Rick and I took on the amitiou project of purchaing a xer-upper in 2007 to turn into our oceanide dream home in Roton, .C. Our on and daughter had recentl launched into adulthood, and I had le m jo to pend m late fortie with Rick on hi hing oat. We were going to move in and x it up together, tep tep. Ordering new window to enjo the unn oceanfront view from our living room had u gidd. ut our plan were forever altered when Rick had a eizure during one of our rt reno jo. We had onl een in the houe a few month when, intead of working together to create a living pace in our aement, we were itting together in variou doctor’ o ce, holding hand, a tet and more tet revealed a terminal rain tumour, a gliolatoma multiforme. Depite the grim prognoi, we did the gamut of treatment: holitic approache, then chemo and radiation. Our focu hi ed from renovation to pending preciou time together, ut we never topped talking aout the feeling we wanted to achieve in our each houe.
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5/10/2016
Why I became a carpenter in my fifties Chatelaine
In Januar 2008, the doctor told Rick he had 18 month le . We didn’t want to elieve it, ut their prediction wa prett accurate. Rick paed awa in Ma the next ear, the da efore m 50th irthda. He had jut turned 55. In hi lat month, we et up the living room with a hopital ed angled toward the each. He pent hi nal da looking out the window, watching the tide roll in and out a eal poked their head out of the water, while eagle and heron wooped overhead and neighour walked the well-worn path in front of our houe. We were itting together looking out thi ame window when I promied him I would nih the houe. I would nih what we tarted. Month a er Rick paed awa, I ventured into hi workhop. tanding there alone taring at all hi tool, I realized the enormit of m pledge. The hop wa alwa hi. He wa the ke plaer. I wa upport ta . I had rudimentar kill uing hi andaw and tale aw, ut I didn’t feel con dent tackling igger project. ure, I could, and did, hire contractor to help me with larger tak, like pluming, upgrading electrical and replacing old window, ut what I reall wanted wa to e more elf-u cient, to learn how to operate the tool melf. o when I heard that m neighour wa enrolling in a ix-month carpentr foundation program, I decided to ign up, too. When I rt arrived at North Iland College’ woodworking hop, I thought: Thi
i it. Thi i where I’m uppoed to e. Within four da I went from eing overwhelmed and douting m competence, to elieving in melf and wanting to get traight A. The intructor had an endle uppl of patience and encouragement. He didn’t at an ee at having a petite widow in her
ie in hi
claroom. He patientl explained the fundamental of reidential framing, footing, wall-forming, ite laout and workite afet. When I tarted, I thought I’d e the lat peron in the room to get hired a a carpenter. I don’t feel that wa anmore. I graduated lat ear with the ailit to look at a project and determine what’ poile, what material I’ll need and the potential cot. I can read contruction plan and navigate m peronal cop of the .C. uilding Code, which I’ve referred to multiple time over the pat few month a I uilt a garden hed in m ackard and egan contruction on a unn itting area o the kitchen. In the meantime, demolition ha egun a I remove old moulding and radiator and egin replacing door and tair railing. It will take me a few ear to nih everthing on m to-do lit, ut m tool uppl i growing along with m con dence.
Thi piece i part of Choice, a new erie exploring real-life choice women make — ig or mall, good or ad — and how the impact their live. To contriute our own piece for the erie, pleae ee our umiion guideline here.
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