May 14th, 4:49am

During the spring of 87 Matt was in school and my daughter was not yet two. I was in the process of building the big house. It was the second, but this time it wasn’t nights and weekends. My brother Joel had come and help me pour the foundation on Christmas Eve. In California you build for earthquakes so it’s 1/2” steel and concrete. It was a long day, but we finished by the time the sun was down. Then my wife came and got me. The kids were sleeping and it was time to wrap presents.

The floor joist had been rolled and blocked. Sub-floor glued and nailed down. My wife helped me stand up the walls with jacks. Frankie came back and helped me with the roof framing. 1/2” plywood had been nail on and now it was the time for the squares and squares of roof shingles. One shingle at a time. It seems to take the longest, but it is one of the most important, when you are building a house.

We were living in a 28’ trailer next to the house in process. A steel container held our household belongings. I had built a small shed for the icebox and washer and dryer.

There was a small closet inside the trailer, turned into a caged bed for Kim, but she seemed to escape from time to time.

So I was trying to fight the boredom of shingles on the top of this roof and concentrate on the importance of this part of construction when I heard a voice. It was a small voice, but one that I knew well.

Looking over the roof hip to the ladder laid against the gutter, there was my daughter on the top run looking at me. Her bottle in one hand as she held on with the other.

As my heart raced, I slowly stood and begin talking to her gently. She was 12 feet high as I was 40 feet from her. So we talked a little as what seemed like eternity as I casually moved toward her. She put the bottle to her mouth and held it by her teeth.

Finally reaching her, I picked her up and held her in my arms. She did not know the relief I felt, but it was not important. After a few moments I took her to the ridge, to the top of the roof and we sat down. We looked out over trees and land. We talked about being in a place where few people sit. Tomales bay was to the south and the Inverness hills climbed on the other side.

The time was quiet. It was peaceful. A time to show my daughter things she had not seen before. Later we talked about be careful, that maybe next time just call and I will come get her. But with wonder, and wanting to be with each other you end up looking on things you did not see before.