It was a typical Monday evening when I arrived home from a long day of work. I was greeted at the front door by my son Mason and our English bulldog, Norman.

Mason ran into my arms screaming, “Da-da’s home! Da-da’s home!”

Norman barked loudly and drooled all over my work pants, while he was looking for his much needed TLC as well!

“How was everyone’s day?” I asked, looking in my wife’s direction.

“We all had a great day, but Mama needs a vacation,” she replied.

I smiled and gave my wife a kiss "hello." After catching up on the day, I hit the shower and got into my pajamas.

For the next hour, Mason and I became every superhero or Ninja Turtle you could imagine—leaping over toys on the floor, diving onto all the beds and couches in the house, and getting chased by evil villains! After we managed to thwart all the crime in the house, it was time for dinner, bath, teeth brushing and bed; there we began our nightly story-telling routine.

After Mason fell asleep, I made my way back into the living room, where I found my wife curled up on the couch. Her eyes were glued to the T.V.

I asked myself, “What could she be watching so intensely?”

Just as the thought crossed my mind, my question was answered.

“Ladies and gentlemen, 'Dancing with the Stars'!” the voice on the T.V. roared.

“Ah-ha!” I said to myself.

I should have known. It was Monday night, which is "Dancing with the Stars" night. I mean that in a good way.

I retreated into the kitchen and grabbed myself a cold beer, and sat down next to my wife and began to watch along with her. That’s right, guys, I admit it! I occasionally watch "Dancing with the Stars," with my wife.

As I watched with her that Monday night, I was blown away by, not only, the extremely extra-talented dancers , but also how creative the dancers were every week. I couldn't believe it. Each week we watched, the dancers had to come up with a new routine that required a lot of creativity.

OK. So, now you know one of my guilty pleasures, and you are probably wondering where I’m going with this one.

Well, as you all know, in our industry there are many ways in which we can utilize the ability to be creative. With all of the tools and materials we use day in and day out, and all of the different circumstances we encounter each day, we are faced with using that intelligent muscle between our ears.

I can’t tell you how many times my co-workers and I had to be creative when lugging a beast of a boiler down some old rickety stairs. It becomes comical at times the things we have to do to get a boiler or heater safely up, down, in, or out. A boiler job, as we all know, is a team effort and is not something one man can handle on his own.

However, when it comes to those situations where you are on a job with just you and yourself and need that extra pair of hands, sometimes you are left with becoming a lot more creative than normal.

You can see in the photo I shared with you a perfect example of my own creativity when I had to install a faucet by myself. Every time I got the faucet in place and I got myself situated under the sink to install it, the faucet would keep tipping forward. Having only two hands at my disposal, I needed to put my brain to work.

As you can see, I ended up finding some creative uses for a few everyday items in my handy-dandy tool bucket (Liquid wrench, putty, and some Teflon tape). I know it looks funny, but I tell ya’, it certainly did the trick!

It’s amazing how we all sometimes need to put our creative minds to work; whether it’s being creative with my bedtime stories with my son, when I’m at work underneath a sink, or when I'm coming up with an idea for my next article to write (like this one).

Next time when you’re out in the field and you don’t have your “dance” partner with you on the job, use that magnificent thing between your ears and make it happen!

I know I’m not the only one out there with creative ideas. Please send me some of your masterpieces! Find me on twitter @seanmccormack56 or email me. Have fun out there guys, and be creative! 2

 

Sean McCormack is co-owner of BMC Plumbing and Heating Inc. He can be reached at seanmccormack99@yahoo.com or 845-596-7770. Visit Sean’s website at seantheplumber.com.