Worker Bees, aka Bathroom Installation, Part 5

If I ever wondered how I came to be the kind of person that is always doing things and never sitting down to rest, a week with my parents will clear that right up. They just finished a visit to my house. Keep in mind that they are both in the seventies. In spite of that, my mother weeded my entire garden, and spaded up several beds. She mowed my lawn and walked the dog. She made meals and planted about a dozen different vegetables. This morning, before they packed up and left for the eight-hour drive, she vacuumed.

What was my father doing during all of this? He led the construction. We finished the subfloor, which is the plywood layer that supports the floor covering. We laid vinyl flooring, then covered it up with cardboard so that it won't get damaged during the rest of the work. He installed two-thirds of the drains, and project managed friends that came over to help. We framed out two walls, installed the base of the toilet, and ran the water hoses up from the basement.

And me? I'm an apprentice. I sand, and I sweep. I apply plumbing cement and cut pipes as instructed. I go to Home Depot twice a day to buy parts, and I fetch the hammers and measuring tapes from wherever they were last cast aside. I'm learning a ton, and I can see the glimmer of an actual bathroom emerging.