Windows...

Windows in modern houses seem to involve a mysterious mix of magic and science to create energy efficient portals to the world outside. They have multiple panes with the gaps between panes filled with inert gas in the hopes of creating a barrier between the weather inside and outside. They are clad in vinyl or aluminum to virtually eliminate maintenance and seek to completely seal any leakage of air or sound from one side to the other.

They're kind of boring, though.

When I think of windows I still think back to the massive solid wood, single-pane, double-hung windows that filled our old house on Mardel with light. Those windows would not have won any energy efficiency awards; nor would they ever be confused with maintenance-free windows, but they were beautiful.

I remember "helping" Dad fix the sash cords on those old windows. Dad always kept extra sash cord down on his workbench because it seemed like they had the habit of breaking at the most inconvenient time - right when Mom wanted that particular window open.

My boys don't even know what a sash cord or weight is, much less the fun that Dad and I had when I "helped" him fix them.

Dad would gather together his tools for the job; usually a hammer, a screwdriver, a little graphite for the pulley and a roll of friction tape. We would remove the window trim and stops so we could tilt the sash out of the window opening. Then we'd open the side trim and retrieve the sash weight from the bottom. Dad would tape the new cord to the broken piece and use the old one to pull the new cord through the pulley. I'd hold the heavy (okay it was probably only three or four pounds, but it sure felt heavy at the time) weight while Dad tied the cord to the ring at the top. I'd hold the weight high in the window frame while Dad cut the cord and tied a knot to hold it into the sash.

We'd replace all of the trim and put the sash back. Then came the moment of truth - when I got to test the window! Dad knew, of course, that the window would work just fine once the cords had been replaced, but he never told me that. He let me think I had the very important job of testing the window to make sure that our work had not been in vain. Mom would thank me profusely for my "help" - insisting that Dad couldn't have done it without me.

I'm sure today's windows are much nicer in every way, but we lost something when we started installing modern, high-efficiency windows in our homes.

We lost those times of a little boy "helping" his dad fix the windows and making his mom proud.