Eight Hundred Pieces

We lived across the street from a beautiful home, and one day, while Anne was walking home from work, she thought, “If that house ever comes up for sale, maybe we should buy it.” Later that evening, as we were sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner, she noticed a For Sale sign on that very house. She told me about her thought and asked if I would like to go check it out.

We went over to our neighbors, who invited us in to see the house and take us on a tour, but before going through the house, our eyes were captivated by the beautiful chandelier that catches everyone’s attention when they enter the front door. Its light is radiant, warm, and welcoming. Our neighbor told us the chandelier’s history. It was purchased in the 1920s by her mother but was never hung until our neighbor bought this home in 1950. We loved the house and bought it that night!

The home was built in 1929. It has an upstairs that is only accessible by walking under the chandelier and up a winding staircase. Before moving in, we hired a contractor friend to restore the home to its original beauty and ambiance while also bringing it up to the current building code to make it safer for our family. The contractor mentioned that the chandelier could be a fire hazard and suggested that we get it rewired. He knew our son Peter and thought he could do the work, so we hired him.

Peter enjoys that kind of work and was excited about the project. He started working immediately. We knew that when Peter takes on a project like this, he will do it right.

He took the chandelier down and hung it from the ceiling in the garage. Before taking it apart, he took pictures from different angles so he would have a map for putting it back together, which definitely became a valuable resource.

Shortly after Peter started the project, we realized that we had a serious communication problem. We did not clearly explain what we meant by “rewiring” the chandelier. We thought he understood that we just wanted a simple electrical rewiring, but to his credit when he started working on it, he noticed that the crystals were dirty and the brass wire connecting them was tarnished and dull. So, with good intent, he carefully cut each crystal from the brass wire that had held them together for more than 80 years. He dismantled that beautiful chandelier into more than 800 pieces! When we saw what he had done, Anne and I both felt like crying. Nevertheless, we held our tongues and encouraged him to finish the job.

This chandelier is an antique, and some of the parts he needed were no longer available, so he had to make them. One thing led to another; setback after setback occurred. There were crazy, unbelievable challenges. Over time, discouragement set in. The project floundered and lay untouched for months. 

Then, one day, an older sister and her husband volunteered to help him get it done as a surprise for us while we were gone on a weekend vacation. When we returned home, we were so excited to see that beautiful chandelier, restored to its glory, hanging back where it was always intended to be.

There are three important resiliency skills in this story. First, accurately communicate the job expectations. Second, be sensitive to the time demand and provide help if a task becomes overwhelming. Third, profuse praise and encouragement are always nice.

Happy Failing Forward,

Calvert