The Joy in Waiting

My backyard neighbor is building a house
at the back corner of his yard.
It’s smaller than an apartment,
larger than a tool shed.
He climbs, bends,
measures, hammers.
Slowly it’s taking shape,
walls framed,
roof beams pitched just so,
a glass door on the far side,
windows all around,
lots of windows.
Is it a greenhouse?
A woodworking shop?
An office for himself
or his wife?
Maybe in his retirement,
he has taken up painting
or sculpting.
Maybe this is his studio.
I could ask,
but I think the joy will be in waiting,
wondering,
seeing how it turns out.
I once told a watercolor teacher
that I was disappointed in my painting
because it hadn’t turned out
the way I had envisioned.
She said, “If it turned out
the way you thought it would,
what’s the point?”
Ah.
The point is in the process,
in the trying,
in the discovery.
Still, I know my neighbor has a plan,
and I hope what he’s building
will turn out the way he wants.
As for me,
I’ll wait and see.