Out With It

After more than 3 weeks, today I finally reached the point where I simply had to say something. The sleep deprivation; the unfocused fog at work, and the resulting stupid little mistakes; the speeding home from work in time to unlock the basement door before the big white Ford truck pulled in our driveway; all the 'what if' scenarios; worrying what he's going to think; all the eye-contact...could I bear much more?

So, this morning, I gathered up my courage and seized the moment. With Karl on his knees, and me with a pair of safety glasses dangling coyly from my fingers, I professed my fervent, sincere, undying--






























--concern for his physical safety.

Oh, I am well aware of the hypocrisy of the situation. I grew up playing with lawn darts as a kid. Never once wore a helmet the whole time I rode a bike, and survived. And I sometimes handle specimens at work...without gloves!

But not once during this sawing, cutting, hammering of late have I actually seen a pair of safety glasses on a face. Could be that the guys wear them during all the really heavy duty stuff while I'm not down there.

Nevertheless, as he continued to mark the floor with his black marker to denote the locations for the recessed can lights, he admitted it was 'wrong all over the place' to go without such protection. And that I could criticize the situation all I wanted, even though I insisted I was not doing so. I told him this was simply coming from me getting the willies over potential imagined injuries (not to mention having to page through the fine print on our insurance policy). And then he said he was really touched that I would think to worry about such a thing.

At that, I had several options, three possibilities being:

1. Thwap him on the side of the head
2. Throw myself in a wailing, overwrought heap beside him on the concrete. "I'd utterly *DIE* if anything happened to those piercing brown eyes of yours!!!!"
3. Roll my own eyes

I did none of the above.

So, I won't make him or his assistant wear protective glasses, or hover in the worksite to see if they do; but he said the hint's been well received. Mission accomplished.