Lessons from the Field

Young Ed framing houses in Indiana.

Some lessons in life come from books, others from mentors, and then there are those that come from rolling up your sleeves and getting to work. My journey as a handyman started early, with a coffee can full of bent nails and a hammer in my hand.

A Childhood Foundation in Fixing Things

When I was a kid, we’d load up the station wagon and drive an hour to my grandparents’ house. The moment we pulled into the driveway, my grandpa knew exactly what I wanted to do. He’d hand me that coffee can filled with bent nails and a hammer, and my job was to make them straight again. Then, he’d let me pound them into the side of the doghouse. That was the start of it all.

His garage was a wonderland to me. He had a workbench with a million drawers, each filled with different tools, fasteners, or odds and ends. I’d pull them open one by one, fascinated by the things inside, imagining the projects they’d been used for and the ones still to come.

Ed's grandfather, Harry, on left.

Building Skills, One House at a Time

In high school, I took a house-building class, which set me on a path toward real construction work. I spent a few years on a framing crew, building houses from the ground up—custom homes, each with its unique challenges. But more than learning how to build, I learned how to problem-solve.

When you work in people’s homes, you don’t just fix things—you observe, you listen, and you navigate unexpected challenges. I’ve learned a lot about human nature just by walking through different doorways. No two homes—or homeowners—are the same.

The Life Lessons from Handyman Work

Every day on the job presents a new set of decisions, and each one matters. Make the wrong choice, and you could spend days undoing a mistake. The lesson? Slow down. Think it through. Don’t rush into a fix just because it seems easy at the moment.

But beyond problem-solving, this work teaches presence. When you’re measuring, cutting, or carefully restoring something, there’s no room for distraction. You have to be fully engaged. That’s one of the things I love most about handyman work—it pulls you into the moment and reminds you to focus on what’s in front of you.

More Than Just Repairs

Fixing things isn’t just about function. It’s about craftsmanship, patience, and respect for materials. It’s about restoring what’s broken, not just in a house but sometimes in people’s confidence in their space. That’s why I take pride in what I do—not just because I get things working again, but because I help people feel good in their homes.

Being a handyman has taught me more than how to fix things—it’s taught me how to approach life. Take your time, pay attention, and always have a good hammer handy. You never know when you’ll need to straighten a few bent nails.