Taught by Hand

Father's Day brings out the cards and the cookouts. For us, it also brings back the men who taught us how to work. As part of the team that leads KRCrossing, we both build things for a living. We learned it the same way, standing next to our fathers, watching, then doing it ourselves. Here is what our dads built into us, and what we hope to pass on.

Rich: learning by tinkering

Rich with his dad, the man who handed him tools and taught him to figure things out.

My father and both my grandfathers worked with their hands. They were handymen and engineers. I grew up watching them fix things, and that taught me something simple. Most problems have a solution if you stay with them long enough.

My dad pulled me into the work early. Car repairs, mostly. He handed me tools and let me try. I was not always good at it, and that was the point. I learned I could figure things out, and that confidence stuck.

Now I have a daughter. She's two. I think a lot about what I want her to carry. I want her to feel that same confidence, that she can take something apart and put it back together. I want her to know she can build.

Being present is the part I protect most. Travel is part of this work, so I use my time at home well. When I am with my daughter, the phone goes down. I keep the best of what my dad gave me, and I add my own to it.

Michael: gumption, and a little grit

Michael with his dad, the man who taught him gumption and showed up at every game.

My father gave me a word I still use: gumption. For him it meant giving everything your full effort, whatever the task. I have carried that into every part of my life, and now I teach it to my own kids.

He is a man's man. Not always loud about his feelings, but you always knew. He was at every game. He showed up. When my focus drifted in high school, he helped me earn my way back, one responsibility at a time. It set me straight, and I am grateful for it now.

I try to pass on that same balance. I want my kids to be tough, mentally and physically. On the baseball field I tell them, don't rub it, go to first. Be tough first, then come to me. They always know they can come to me.

The part I love most is building alongside them. My oldest is almost ten. I cut the wood, wrote out the directions, handed him the tools, and let him build a raised garden bed himself. He did a fantastic job. I will teach my kids how to do almost anything. I just want them to put in the effort first.

What lasts

We both keep this Sunday low-key. Michael will tell you a handmade card from his kids beats any gift. Rich will tell you time with his kid is plenty. That is just how we are. We would rather build something than be celebrated for it.

What we share is simple. We were both taught by fathers who worked with their hands and made room for us to try. We are both doing the same for our own kids. That is the kind of work that lasts.

Happy Father's Day from all of us at KRCrossing.

Rich and Michael