Jack Of All Trades

What do you think about when you see a painting?

Jack has been looking at paintings all day at the museum. Their favorites are the abstract ones, created by a beautiful accident. Jack thinks that they could make something like that, no problem. At home Jack takes everything out of their room and covers the carpet and window with tarp. They bought buckets of random paint on the way home. Without a seconds worth of though Jack grabs a bucket of Stormy Blue and splashes it on every corner of the room. They make sure to toss it close to the ceiling so the paint can travel down the walls like tendrils of ants carving a path to the floor. Next, they grab the Canary Yellow, but this time Jack dips their whole hand into the pail and slaps their fingers in the center of the walls. Now for Rustic Red; Jack gently wiggles their fingers in the paint and proceeds to dot the center of the bright yellow explosions. With the paint Jack has left over, they mix the yellow with the blue. When their arms are thoroughly soaked to the elbow in a mossy green, Jack spins round the room effectively splattering green flecks all over the walls.

On the tarp covered floor Jack admires the glorious chaos they created. Perhaps it was the paint fumes, but Jack was sure they had never felt so relieved before now. This calm relaxed feeling reminds them of their mom taking yoga. She always seems happy and relaxed after coming home from classes. Jack looks up free yoga classes near them on their phone and find one at a park two miles away. They’re there within the hour with no mat and wearing sweatpants and a tank top that says llamaste, and yes it is their mothers.

No one questions some rando joining in in the middle of yoga class. The pudgy middle aged single mothers exchange a look but don’t try to kick Jack out. After class Jack tries to make friendly conversation but everyone quickly packs up into their cars and leave. Jack doesn’t mind their rudeness, instead they walk around the park and take in the view. The day is much to lovely and sunny to dwell on the negative and Jack feels so relaxed after that yoga class.

While walking by a tree Jack notices something colorful on the ground. When they bend over to pick it up then realize it’s a dead butterfly. It’s delicate blue and black wings are frozen in mid flight. It’s so beautiful Jack decides to keep it. They cradle the fragile creature gently with their fingers. They imagine what kind of life this little creature might have had before picking it up. It didn’t seem like it had struggled when it died, so it must have lived a wonderfully fulfilling life. Dark clouds suddenly roll in and block out the bright blue sky. While walking back to their car, Jack discovers a dead green June beetle and a purple dragonfly. They pick those up as well and carry them gently in the palm of their hands. Jack decides to go to a crafts store so they can buy a glass case and keep these beautiful treasures of nature forever.

At the crafts store Jack finds the glass cases for insect collections but also notices an assortment of pins and needles. They had never taken an interest in sewing before but there was a picture on the advertisement of a man wearing a sophisticated vest. Jack’s father loved to wear vests so they bought a book about sewing as well as some needle and thread. They couldn’t afford fabric so when they got home they cut pieces out of random shirts they never wore anymore. Jack tried to keep the colors somewhat matching and only used green pieces because that was the color of the vest in the advertisement. After many hours of reading in between sewing and pricking fingers, Jack held up the patch stitched vest with pride. It reminded them of a quilt or the body of a scarecrow. Jack laughed at his work but it made them happy and they were sure it would make their father happy too. They reserved to give it to their father for his birthday and went to find some wrapping paper. While folding the present, Jack tried their best to fold the paper perfectly. Their presents always ended up looking like a mess because they would cut too much or too little of the paper.

After Jack finished wrapping the vest, they sat down and mindlessly played with the leftover paper. They tried to fold the paper into a heart but it ended up looking more like and envelope. Now of course this inspired Jack to learn origami and it was back to the crafts store to buy another book. While Jack was deciding between the books on origami of zoo animals or origami of flowers someone tapped them on the shoulder. Jack turned around and saw his coworker Jasmine looking at them with her eyebrow raised. Jasmine reminded Jack that their shift started in an hour and walked away. Jack bought both books and sat in the breakroom practicing origami till their shift began. Isabell, another coworker of Jacks’ sits beside them and watches them practice.

“Weren’t you in here earlier buying a frame for your bugs,” Isabell asks Jack.

“Mhm…,” says Jack.

“Just last week you were collecting buttons. And then it was knitting socks!” Isabell turns in her seat to look at Jack straight on.

“How many hobbies you got now? Ten? Twenty?” Isabell chuckles to herself.

“I don’t have any hobbies…,” says Jack.

Isabell scoffs and picks up one of Jacks origami roses. “Then what do you call this?”

Jack smiles and says without looking her in the eyes, “I’m a Jack of all trades, master of none, but better than the master of one.”

Isabell rolls her eyes and gets up from her seat, “You’re a weirdo is what you are. Come on lets get to work.”

Jack decided not to go to work after all. Their paper lion inspired them to go see a real one. And that was how Jack lived all their life. They never committed to anything and let things come and go without making a fuss. And they were happy.