When you are a “Get it Done” type of person as I am, it’s pretty tough to sit in the back seat and watch. I usually grow impatient and jump into the driver seat of the task at hand and Getter’ Done. So when a fellow co-worker asked if I could dig 150-200 feet of trench for them, I immediately thought, what a great experience this would be for 
A few weeks ago a co-worker asked if I would be able to come to their house and dig some trench for them. They just had a shop built on their property in the mountains, and wanted to get electricity ran to it. They already had a licensed electrician hired to do the electrical work and just needed someone to dig the trench from the meter base to the shop.
“Hey, aren’t you an Electrician?”
No, I am a High Voltage Journeyman Lineman, I bring the Big Power to the meter and the Electrician handles it after that. Can I do the work of an Electrician... ummm a very small amount, just the basics and probably not even that. Ain’t that right 
Simple enough, just dig a 150-200 foot trench 30 inches deep and my job is done. They would be back filling the trench, so all I have to do is make a mess and someone else cleans it up. Lol.
I just have to get this outta the way... We couldn’t have asked for a better day to tow a mini-excavator up to the mountains and enjoy a little father-son time digging some trench.
With just this little amount of info I have provided about this project, you should see that this a win-win-win all the way around. My co-worker saves a ton of money by having me come and dig the this 150-200 feet of trench to their new shop. My son and I get to spend some quality Man-Time together. My son gets the great opportunity at the age of 11 to operate a Mini-excavator in open spaces. Then, I get to work on being a better father when it comes to putting priority on relationships rather than the task at hand. Often times I do it just to get it done and don’t think I have time to let one of the kids or someone else work their way through it. I guess I couldn’t ask for a much better opportunity than this, to lend my skills to someone in need, have some good father-son time, and a great experience for
First we started my identifying where all the underground facilities are. Their septic tank and water well are in the rear of the house, that just leaves the electric service going to the house for us to find. Always and I mean always call 811 before you dig in the U.S. They will contact all the local utility companies and those companies will come out and mark whatever they have underground so you don’t hit it.
Using a string line as a guide, I marked the path of the trench with white paint. I marked it every couple feet to make it easier to keep a straight line. Not only for him but for me also.
To begin with I did the digging close to the meter base to give
I was really hoping it would have been easy digging but this dirt has some clay in it and when it is bone dry like this.... it is hard as a rock!! That makes it really tough for this little machine to dig through it. Breaking of layer and layer at a time. Even with me behind the stick,which isn’t saying much, it was a little slow going. Did I mention is was an absol-frickin-lutley beautiful day?
Story Time
So I have this big water jug we filled with ice water before we left. When I went to get it out of the truck I noticed water dripping out from under the rear driver door... hmmm that’s odd?? Where is that water coming from? So I opened the door to find the Yeti water jug on its side basically empty.... I’m glad I have rubber floors in my truck and not carpet. No need to clean that up, it’s just washing the dirt off the floor. My guess is “someone” forgot to tighten the lid all the way :wink:wink
The End
Just Me being Me, it was tough not to sit there and keep trying to give him pointers. You know the kind of pointers that are waay over his skill level. The boy was doing great for his first time I gotta give him that!! He stuck with it and when he started to get inpatient, he would ask me to dig for a little bit. Wow, instead of getting super frustrated and slamming the controls around he simply said, “I need a break can you dig a couple?” The funny think is I noticed that he was trying to get in a hurry. Instead of gradually moving the joysticks, he was going all-or-nothin’ lol. I kept reminding him, to think smooth and not fast. Speed??... hmm I wonder where he gets that from??...
While the Man-of-house was installing some speakers inside the new shop, we just kept on digging. My son would dig a couple setups then I would dig a couple. While I was digging that boy was running all over the place. Jumping back and forth across the ditch showing me his skills. Lol I was hoping he would watch and catch a few pointers but... our Relationship is more important than the task He is a kid, so let him have some fun running around. Honestly I am not very strict at all. I’m a laid back person. I’m the type of person that is all about efficiency, I have, in my mind, tried every way to get a task completed faster and easier. So when I tell my son how to do it and he “thinks” he can do it his way.... I just sit back and say, “Told Ya So” Instead of letting him figure it out himself. He is a thinker and I need to let him think, instead of trying to do the thinking for him. Is he hard headed?.... No, he is just like me. Someone tells him a way to do it and he is bound and determined to find a way that is more efficient, yet done right.
Now this digging could have taken me a couple hours to compete by myself. I’m no way is this bragging because I am by no means a professional on this equipment. What could have been a couple hour job turned out to be about 5 hours. If that wasn’t a test for me I don’t know what was. I always tend to interfere in order to keep the project going and end up taking some of the work that one of my kids could be doing. Hey, we all have faults and admitting that you have some is a huge step in the right direction.
Thanks for taking time out of your day to read this DIY, Father-Son Man-Time, Help One Another, Learning to be a better Father post. I hope you all enjoyed it and I look forward to sharing other Father and Son projects with you guys.
Until Next Time...
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