There are two big joys for me when I have mastered a skill. One is that I can now use said skill to explore my creativity. The second, is actually that I can now repair things.
For example, by knowing how to hand-sew I can replace buttons, hem jeans, and fix small rips.
Making these small repairs makes me feel useful. As if I am not just learning to do all of these things so that I can spend all of my time selfishly creating things and ignoring those around me. I can use my skills to improve their lives as well as mine. (Of course I also give gifts that I create just for them...so, even if I didn't repair things I couldn't consider myself or my artistic forays as selfish)
Of course, some repairs are more fun than others. And sadly, some items are not able to be saved. My all-time-favorite repairs occur when I save something that the other person was sure had to be thrown away...And they are devastated by the thought of its loss. Showing then that it isn't hopeless, that repair is possible, and basically giving them more time with their beloved object makes me feel as if I am a super hero.
Recently, I made a repair such as this. It was for my youngest nephew Zeed. He has a hat he wears daily. He thinks the hat makes him look handsome like Indiana Jones (whom he adores). And the other day it got ripped. There are conflicting stories as to how this happened (since he is 3 and he was hysterically screaming that his hat was "dead" I didn't really investigate I simply took the hat from him and fixed it).
He was so surprised that I could fix it. (Since he had been crying in the other room while I did so and didn't see it happen he really was shocked.) You can barely tell it was repaired :) and I foresee many more months of wearing time.
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