My Son, The Builder

A few years ago I attended my first Inner Gardener workshop at The Wildwood Ranch near St. Charles, Iowa. (www.innergardener.com) I did not know any of the other attendees although I knew of one of the presenters, Debra Landwehr Engle. My daughter had worked for her as a research assistant one summer before starting college.

At the table where I sat for lunch the women continued getting acquainted with one another. I heard one woman talking about the house she and her husband were building on the edge of the Anita Country Club. Her last name was Miller. As she talked about their future retirement home, it suddenly clicked in my mind. "Do you know who your builder is?" I asked. She looked at me like well, duh? "Yes, our builder is Doug," she replied. And I said, "Yes, my son, Doug." Small world.

But perhaps not so small. I have lost track of the number of homes Doug has built. Pictured is an authentic New England Salt Box near Waukee. He has built starter homes in sub-divisions, log cabins, spec homes, mcmansions, custom homes (including an off the grid building in the woods near Macksburg) and his own family home on an acreage near Redfield. (The top picture is of him and my Mom standing in the Crow's Nest of the master bedroom overlooking the great room.)

In addition to the houses he has built, he has also remodeled many. Whenever possible, he has added his own artistic touches - like the Crow's Nest above and a copper roofed gazebo in Menlo. I marvel at his abilities and talent.

Doug seemed to know what he wanted to be from an early age. He graduated mid-term from highschool and enrolled in the Building Trades course at DMACC. He did not complete the course, but he did become a builder, learning by doing for nearly thirty years. My son, the builder.