Growing up, I always had a self-perception of myself as an awkward, uncoordinated kid that was good at computers, math and writing but poor at outdoorsy things, sports and anything handy, like working on appliances, cars or woodworking. I dealt with digital things, not physical things.

It took some specific people and of years to change this self-perception, and one of the most important people was my Uncle Wayne. Starting in high school or college, Wayne began to teach me how to drive a stick, then how to work on cars, how to read a Haynes manual, and how to work with tools effectively. I still have the ratcheting wrench set he bought me 20 years ago.

Beyond the how, he taught me that not only could I do it, but I actually could be good at it. These things weren’t magic, they were not black boxes or something to be afraid of touching. The car engine wasn’t a computer — but it was system I could dive into. While I remained uncoordinated, I could still diagnose, fix and replace things.

Today, fixing appliances around the house, small plumbing jobs, minor electrical work and lawn mowers are all jobs I can handle. I don’t think it would have **occurred** to me as an adult that these are all things *I* could work on myself without his encouragement all those years earlier.

In 2024, I learned how to haul a 35′ RV and it was LOADS easier because of the time Uncle Wayne spent teaching me to drive a stick — knowing how to engine break is absolutely invaluable stopping 15,000 pounds in the rain.

Aunt Deb is no less great is one of my favorite people.

He and Aunt Deb invested in many people, not just me, and many of us are so much better for it. Wayne & Deb are the type of people that make you feel better about yourself just because you were around them for a couple hours.

I’m not sure I do either of them justice with these words and I haven’t listed all of the ways they invested in me and things they’ve done for me, but I hope it is enough to get the gist of it across.

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I turned 40 in December and it’s left me thinking about a lot of things, but especially the number of things I am grateful for. I want to list 40 of those over the next few weeks, things that either shaped where I am and things that are actively with me today.

There is no particular order, this is part of that series.