My Wonder Woman in her driveway garden.
Fortunately for the world, not everybody functions like I do. Some people aren’t constantly gazing into their spiritual navels, slowed to ennui by every fluff of emotional lint. Some look outside themselves and thrive on creation rather than contemplation and midday oblivion. Just as I have a longing that can only be quieted by a siesta, some have visions that relentlessly draw them forward into action. My wife is a vision sort.
“Hey, Kath,” I’ll say, “want to take a nap with me?”
“No thanks,” she’ll answer. “I have things I want to do.”
Thank God for Kathy and people like her. I embrace my way of being, but recognize that while I soothe my twitchy spirit with rest, others tend their restless souls with motion. And their way is as legitimate as mine. Siestas are good for those who need them, but the goal in living is to figure out what works for you in the shot glass of time you’ve got on this planet and bloody well do that. What my wife needs to do is create, and as a result, I’m one lucky napper. While I rest and write and cook, she makes paradise. I’m not exaggerating.
Kathy’s roof, seven years old and still keeping the family dry.
Kathy and I moved to Shenley Drive in 2001. Within five years, we needed a new roof. In a normal-ish family, either a paid roofer or the husband would have been up on the roof. The Colemans aren’t normal. The woman of the house asked around about hiring a contractor, frowned at what she heard, and said, “I’ll do this myself.” And she did—sort of. A handful of family helped out, but Kathy did most of the work and most importantly, made it happen.
Roofing a house is my wife’s most ambitious project, but she constantly has friends and neighbors shaking their heads. “Huh?” they say. “You made this? You did this?”
“Yes she did,” I jump in to say. I not only saw her make-paint-hammer-sew-whatever dozens of marvels, but I took pictures. In no particular order, here’s photographic evidence of my Wonder Woman’s paradise. (Some of these shots appeared in previous posts.)
The tile work of a rookie. Looks perfect to me.
Wonder Woman at work making pillow covers for what she calls her “lounge.” She made window shades with the same paisley print. It works!
When son Micah began recovery from his heroin addiction, Kathy remodeled his former basement bedroom and named it her “beach house.” Here’s a little school above the bed. She didn’t actually make this one.
What Kathy calls her backyard “puddle.”
Kathy’s tomato plants got so tall this summer she had to build a whatever-the-heck this is for them to lean against.
One of my work stations, lovingly created by Wonder Woman. She re-upholstered all the cushions when they became sun worn.
A Kathy Coleman patio: she dug all the bricks out of a half-assed gazebo in the middle of the backyard, designed a groovy-shaped patio, and laid the bricks down. I hauled a little gravel on this project.
A view from my patio work station. Garage roof by Wonder Woman.
A lot of Kathy’s projects are practical, but plenty are just plain fun. She likes nothing better than to share surprise paradise with loved ones.
A play tent for next-door neighbor Caroline.
Handmade handbag for a friend.
Another handmade handbag for a friend. You could sell this baby at J. C. Penney.
One Christmas Kathy made wine-cork boards for the wine drinkers on Shenley Drive.
Each Halloween, Kathy’s paradise spills out into the front yard in the form of decorations.
A Halloween shark leftover from a recent celebration bites the love seat in Kathy’s beach house.
All of my wife’s creations are actually child’s play compared to her day job. She’s a chemo nurse, loving and caring for cancer patients. “He was one of ours,” she says, scanning the obituaries. “So was she.”
I love the woman, and I love her vision. While I nap, she creates life. And while I work, she works, too, passing along life to those even Wonder Woman can’t save. Of course, that doesn’t stop her from trying.
Filed under: Creativity, Happiness, Life, Napping, Spirituality Tagged: Crafts, Decorating, Gardening, Napping, Recreation, Religion and Spirituality, Wife, Wonder Woman 
