Eventually, we learn these things

As I'm tightening the screws that hold the clamp that holds the pole upon which the bird feeders hang, I'm thinking, "This screw should be longer. And, it needs a washer." A washer would give the head of the screw more surface area and would hold everything more securely.
That thought was followed quickly by a line from the 2000 Year Old Man, "We mock the thing we are to be."
My father didn't just use washers religiously. He was the Pope.
The windows on the boat house have been covered up since whenever. We wanted to remove the cover so we could check on the condition of the windows and also let more light into the building. Most people, meaning not my father, would have nailed some plywood over the window. Huck had built a nicely-framed wood cover and bolted it to the window frame. The bolts had a broad head and gripped securely on the outside, but the nuts that secured the cover from the inside needed help. Each had four washers. Sixteen washers in all. I'll bet most people don't use 16 washers in a lifetime.
I'm not very handy or clever or careful when it comes to home projects, a set of diminished skills that was well established a long time ago.That doesn't stop me from appreciating good work and learning just a little bit.