Life List Day 6 – Learn a New Skill: Patching a Hole

When you have a hole in your wall the size of, say, an angry 14-year-old boy’s fist, you can’t just fill it with spackle.

Of course, it’s not YOUR job to fix it anyway. The aforementioned teen is providing labor. But unless you want your landlord to notice the gaping hole and charge you a handyman’s fees for repairs, it had better be a pro job.



Please note exhibit A: The hole. You can see how if you just slap spackle in the drywall, it would fall into the abyss.

So we went to the hardware store - and by “we” I mean me and my now cooled-down son - to get supplies, and also advice. I'll admit, I was tempted to just hide the hole with a strategically-placed picture. But I know it's important that the same hand that caused the damage be the one to fix it. I haven't always followed through on stuff like that - making him responsible for his behavior. Sometimes it's easier to just to clean up the mess myself. Perhaps today I'm learning TWO new life skills.

To fill a large hole:

1. Buy a drywall patch, which is basically a mesh bandaid, and cut it to fit over the hole.
2. Apply spackle over the mesh, smoothing it with a putty knife. Make sure you get the heavy vs. light spackle.
3. After it dries, sand until smooth. Paint.
4. Talk to teen about how you can’t help it if you didn’t hear the phone and so were unaware he needed a ride home, thus causing him to walk in the rain, ruining his skateboard. Sometimes these things happen. Did he know that punching pillows can also be a great relief for frustration...and without the damage?



P.S. Also today, I went to Duttons book store to see my friend Sandra Ramos O'Briant read her warm and funny short story "Chile Tales: The Green Addiction", part of the anthology What Wildness Is This: Women Write About the Southwest