A recent anniversary – 21 years in the business – was announced by my business-related social network computer program. Of course, I realized that the milestone – completing my second full decade in the restoration industry - was approaching, but I didn’t realize that the programmers at LinkedIn would announce it to my entire business and social network. It wasn’t until I started receiving messages of congratulations that I took a minute myself to reflect on the last 20 years – over two decades in the restoration business.

It made me think about what it means to restore. According to Webster’s dictionary, restoration is the act of “…bringing (something) back to a former condition.” During this reflection it occurred to me that one of my passions – a love of history – was a big part of my daily grind. Don’t get me wrong, not every project involving restoration has historical significance, but many do. Enough do that it makes me feel a real connection with the past; a sense of accomplishment when a restoration project restores a structure to a “former condition” - a time and place in our collective memory.