How my eighteen-month-old grandson’s eyes lit up when he saw the chair! His joyful expression made the days of challenging work building it seem like nothing by comparison. I watched with delight as he ran up to the chair as fast as he could. He sat down, then got back up and looked at it, and then sat down again, over and over laughing all the while. Watching him enjoy my gift to him brought me unspeakable joy and satisfaction. Not only had I made a useful and fun item for my grandson, which he seemed thrilled with, but I had carried on a family tradition.
Many years ago, when I was a child, my parents came across a design for a child’s chair in a magazine. What caught their attention with this particular design was its versatility; it could be a chair, a rocker, or a step stool depending on how it was positioned. Knowing that my grandfather was a skilled craftsman, my father asked him to make the little chair for each of his children. My brothers and I have fond memories of endless hours spent in the chairs that our Papaw gave us.
When the next generation in the family came along, I used the same pattern to build these chairs for my brothers’ children as Christmas gifts. Then, when my first child was born, one of my brothers returned the favor. My little girl had a little chair, just her size too. This created another period in my family’s history where children once again played on these hand-built chairs.
So, a few years ago, when my first grandson, TJ, turned two years old, I pulled out the old pattern and began cutting out the pieces for that treasured chair once again. I felt a little rusty, as I had not built anything in quite a while. I am certainly not the carpenter my Papaw was. Yet somehow it came together just the same. TJ loved it and now will forever remember the chair his “Pawpaw” made for him. Perhaps someday he will build a chair for some, yet unborn, descendant of mine using this same pattern.
A hand-built project such as this delightful little chair is a wonderful way to start and build a family tradition. Choose any simple pattern such as a child’s chair, perhaps a birdhouse, or some other craft that your children, nieces and nephews, or grandchildren would enjoy. When the gift is given, be sure and include the pattern so it can continue to be passed on to the next generation of novice carpenters and eager children.
Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Psalms 127:3 (HCSB)
Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly, and the pride of sons is their fathers. Proverbs 17:6 (HCSB)
Written by Ron Wasson
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Christian Grandfather Magazine
Featured Image by coolunit from Pixabay
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